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THE RTÉ PRIME Time investigation into the mistreatment of children at three creches in Dublin and Wicklow has shocked the country and prompted a wave of reaction today.
The programme, ‘A Breach of Trust’, aired last night and showed the mistreatment of children at a number of Irish childcare facilities, but RTÉ has taken the decision not to air the programme again or put it on its on-demand RTÉ Player service after a request from parents.
If you missed the programme, TheJournal.ie has put together an in-depth account of what was broadcast in an attempt to inform those who may not have had a chance to watch last night’s programme.
Introducing the programme, Prime Time presenter Claire Byrne warns that viewers can expect “upsetting scenes and strong language” from the start as we then see excerpts of a creche worker swearing at a child, a child being forced to lie down and, in another clip, a child being forced to sit into their chair.
Reporter Oonagh Smyth appears on camera to introduce the programme and says it will investigate childcare in Ireland and ask “if the system of regulation that upholds standards of care is good enough”.
The programme points out that a huge amount of child development takes place between birth and three years of age, making these early years crucial to a child’s development.
It says that 75 per cent of childcare facilities are privately-run and introduces the childcare regulations that are enforced by the HSE. It says that two of these regulations concern the quality of care.
The programme says that most pre-schools are inspected once every 20 months and says that experts complain that the childcare regulations are too basic and poorly enforced to ensure good services across the country. It cites its own examination of HSE inspection reports which show that breaching of childcare regulations is “widespread across the country”.
We are then introduced to the undercover researchers – all qualified or studying in childcare practice – who worked in five creche chains, acting on complaints made to RTÉ or made previously to the HSE.
We’re told that in three chains the programme “saw breaches of a serious enough nature” to warrant inclusion in programme. “We did not witness any instances of violent or sexual abuse,” Smyth, the narrator for the programme, definitively states.
The programme says that there were two inspections of Giraffe facilities in 2010 in which there were repeated breaches of regulations identified. Last year the HSE found these issues resolved.
We’re told that both good care and bad care were observed by the undercover researcher with some examples of bad care including:
The programme says that some children were strapped for periods of at least an hour even though the creche guidelines are that children should only be strapped in for meals and table activities and this should be for 15 minute periods.
In practice, the children were strapped in for on average two hours a day, the programme claims. Professor Sheila Greene, a developmental psychologist from Trinity, says that it is not necessary to strap in a child at any point if the child is managed properly.
She describes the practice at Giraffe as “very, very inappropriate” and “bordering on abusive” while Dr Catriona O’Toole (below), developmental psychologist from NUI Maynooth, says that children’s natural instincts are to be on the move.
Strapped into a chair
In another incident we see a boy, aged 21 months, strapped into his chair and facing a fridge, an incident which Greene says is clearly in breach of regulations and “harmful” to the child. A different childcare worker admits to strapping in children saying that although they are not allowed do it the children “understand exactly what you’re saying: ‘If you do that again, you’re going to be put in a chair.’”
In the case of the 21-month-old strapped into the chair the researcher takes the child out after 40 minutes to get some food but the other worker says that he must be strapped back in for his snack. The child starts to cry as he strapped back in. As the researcher tries to get the child a book, the other worker tells the researcher not to give the child anything.
“It’s his own fault,” the worker says before trying to give him the snack. As the boy continues to cry he is taken out of the chair and brought to the ‘baby room’. The woman returns to the room with the child and puts him back into his seat. The child – still distressed – indicates that he will eat his snack and is left by the worker, who walks out of the room.
“I found it very disturbing footage,” says Nóirín Hayes, a professor of early years childhood care and education, who says the child was strapped for a long period of time, the response of the adult is “one of threats, it’s very negative”.
On foot of a complaint from the undercover researcher, management at Giraffe began an investigation into the incident, the programme says.
‘Breach of trust’
The programme then focuses on what the creche tells parents in contrast to what actually happens with one manager – not involved in the day-to-day running of Belarmine – meeting with a researcher posing as a parent who is told about diaries being kept of children’s day-to-day activities at the creche.
“Every day their mummies and daddies know everything,” the manager is recorded as saying but the programme states that diaries are often fabricated and shows one example where by 1pm, while the child is napping, the entire day of that child has already been documented in their diary.
Records on food allergies are also not adequately kept with one chef recorded as saying that if the HSE saw his list of food allergies for children at the facility, the creche would be shut down as the list is out of date and from last year.
More footage shows that there are no cots for young children during their nap time and no heavy blinds which can be brought down to keep out the light. One worker takes up to 45 minutes to settle children while another is shown trying to force a child to lie down.
“We’re not going to have anymore silliness,” the worker says as the child begins to cry. “Go asleep,” the worker repeatedly says. More undercover footage shows a worker attempting to get a child to lie down and sleep by covering their head with a blanket. Hayes (below) says this is “very degrading behaviour” while Greene describes it as “emotionally and physically harmful”.
Inspection reports
The programme points out that management acted on foot of complaints by the undercover researcher and introduced more support into the creche. A complaint to the HSE was also made. But the programme says that the most recent inspection reports reports show that:
The programme says that Giraffe had over €1m in state funding last year and will have nearly the same again this year. In addition it had €360,000 last year for capital investment with €40k going to Belarmine alone.
A statement from Giraffe says that it is profoundly sorry for the distress caused and says one staff member has been suspended. It says it will take whatever steps necessary to provide quality care to children and it remains dedicated to maintaining the highest possible standards.
Next, the programme focuses on Little Harvard, a small chain of five creches in Kildare, Wicklow and Dublin. It says there have been two recent complaints about branches in Bray while in Rathnew its branch there breached nine regulations including the regulation on child welfare and development.
We’re told it costs €823 per month for full time childcare there and that again there was both good and bad practices observed by the undercover researcher.
“Some staff had very little interest in the children due to an obsession with mobile phones,” the programme says with footage showing staff members on their phones at various points. Hayes points out there is “virtually no relationship or interaction” between adults and children in this footage.
The programme’s undercover researcher also identifies other problems at the Rathnew branch including:
Behind closed doors, left in highchairs
Children are also supposed to be checked regularly during naptime but the undercover footage shows that those in the cot room are not checked regularly and once the researcher does check them infants are found crying. The researcher also discovers a 20-month-old boy who has been put in a room beyond the cot room with the door shut.
“To put a child behind two sets of closed doors is potentially dangerous in that you don’t know what’s going on with the child and it’s also distressing to the children,” Greene (below) says.
Putting children behind closed doors is a common practice at Little Harvard, the programme says, citing one case of a little girl kept behind a door for three minutes before being let out. This is a breach of regulations that is described as “very disturbing” by Hayes.
Other footage shows infants left in high chairs for prolonged periods, unoccupied while staff work on other activities such as cleaning.
In one incident a little girl is kept in her highchair continiously for two hours while on other days infants are left in highchairs even longer. This is “absolutely inappropriate” according to O’Toole.
Isolated incidents
In a statement to the programme, Little Harvard says these were isolated incidents which fell below standards. “This programme has drawn untrue and incorrect conclusions from those incidents,” the creche company is quoted as saying, adding that an in-depth investigation is being carried out.
The programme points out that many of the issues it raises were raised by the HSE’s own inspection report two years ago. It says that overall Little Harvard received €433,000 in ECCE funding last year and €30,000 more this year.
The programme’s second half begins by focusing on the HSE inspection reports, reports that it has promised to publish but has not done so. Having exclusively obtained the reports from last year an examination of them by RTÉ shows that in the case of pre-schools and creches:
“I am surprised that the non-compliance levels are so high,” says Irene Gunning from Early Childhood Ireland adding that it is important to differentiate between minor breaches and more serious ones.
Some within the sector complain the HSE does not do more to raise standards and the programme says that the HSE declined to participate. But it does quote from what it says is a “highly sensitive internal document” regarding the childcare inspectorate in a regional area.
This document outlines concerns about children being put at risk in that area and says that the culture of “light touch regulation” has come “at the expense of children’s rights”.
The programme quotes from a HSE statement in which it says that while every effort is made to maintain a complete inspection schedule “it has not been possible to do so in all areas, at all times”.
The programme switches back to its case studies with this childcare facility observed on foot of complaints to the programme by former members of staff and a month after a HSE inspection found it was “generally compliant” with regulations.
The facility is one of ten across Dublin, costing €945 per month for a child in full time care. The programme says that CCTV cameras are located in every room of this creche.
Again there were many examples of good care found here but the undercover researcher also witnesses what is described as a “disciplinarian approach” towards very young children.
Some incidents include:
‘Children being slammed into chairs’
In one of a number of similar incidents, an 18-month-old girl is recorded getting out of her chair before being put back into the chair by a worker. This happens again a short time later where the child is recorded getting out of the seat before being forcefully placed back into it by the worker who shouts: “Stay in your seat.”
“It’s very hard to watch children being slammed in to chairs,” says Greene.
At meal time a girl is shown eating with her hands but this is not allowed and the worker pulls her hand back and shouts at the girl: “Don’t put your f**king finger in it.” The programme says that Links senior management were informed of these incidents and an investigation has been undertaken.
In one other piece of footage a boy in Montessori group is, we are told, in need of a nap. The boy is put in a corner to sleep as the group continues its activities, the boy acts up and his mattress and blanket are taken away. The boy continues to cry. “Let him cry himself to sleep,” a worker says.
The boy is being “humiliated” according to Hayes.
‘They’re all little bullies’
In another incident nap time for toddlers is observed by the undercover researcher. The programme tells us that staff get a break when the children are asleep. In the footage, a staff member is heard to say: “Don’t be afraid to, like, be tough with them cos you have to be, cos they’re all little bullies.”
One piece of footage shows a child who will not settle being picked up off their mattress and slammed down the other end of the mattress before a blanket is thrown over them. Another child is then grabbed by the legs and dragged down the mattress by the same worker.
“You see the children being manhandled, being flipped and thrown, they’re like little ragdolls not living children,” Greene says. “They’re being treated as objects not as children and it is quite disturbing.”
The undercover researcher made a complaint to management at Links. A complaint was also made to the HSE. We’re told that inspection reports found that four Links creches breached regulation 8 on staff checks and ratios while four out of five Links branches breached regulation 27 on safety measures.
Links said that one member of staff has been dismissed and another has been suspended, while a new manager has also been appointed. All staff are being retrained across the chain, the company – which made a €1.6 million profit last year – said in a statement to the programme.
The programme concludes with some damning observations of childcare in Ireland stating that international research shows that this country fares badly when it comes to early years care and is behind most other major EU countries.
Advocates argue that the government is not spending enough on childcare and that not enough people working in the sector are appropriately qualified. Irene Gunning (above) says there needs to be targets set down on qualifications and on quality.
The programme, perhaps crucially, points out that the €234 million in early years funding and the €176 million on the pre-school year is not tied to quality standards with public funding going to services which are variable in quality.
Inspections are infrequent in some counties with just one in five creches inspected in the Cavan-Monaghan area last year compared to 95 per cent in Longford-Westmeath. Just over half of creches were checked last year, according to the national average.
“Tonight we have seen disturbing evidence of how very young children can be badly treated in creches,” the reporter Smyth says adding that the need for reform is “clear”.
O’Toole notes that parents should be aware that what happens in the home is more important to a child’s overall development than what happens in a creche. But Gunning says the programme and its revelations should be “a turning point and maybe a wake up call to parents, services and the government”.
If you were affected by issues in the programme, you may wish to contact Barnardos at 01 – 454 9699 or the ISPCC at 01 – 6767 960.
Pictures: Screenshots and Photocall Ireland
Can the providers please update their coverage first… I have no coverage most of the time at home and at work, ridiculous at this day and age paying for a service that is not even functioning!!!
Change your provider
Same problem, We have been with Vodafone, Meteor and 3 at this stage and the same shite coverage.. Next option at this stage is to move house!!!
In all fairness, Bernie, you live nearly in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (west, west, wesht Kerry).
Your expectations of good coverage are a little high?
Do you want your own mobile tower for you and your neighbor (singular) all to yourself? ;-)
And is it too much to expect to get the same services that the rest of the country get even if I do live next to the Atlantic ocean, the country is not that big for God’s sake… Does that mean that San Francisco or anywhere on the far western seaboard in the USA should’nt expect to get decent coverage or services ‘cos they live nearly in the middle if the Pacific ocean’!!! Get real in this day and age and in this era of so called technology!!!
Sorry bernie but there is a thing called supply and demand. If you have phone line there is options to increase your mobile signal locally. You might look into that option.
Not just a rural problem, I was in Ballyboden last week & had to go outside to get a mobile signal.
Doesnt work like that bernie.
If it was financialy viable to erect a cell in your area they would.
Though if they did folk out ‘wesht’ would no doubt protest about the waves frying ur brain or something.
When the far west is a city the size of san fran, then you can expect good coverage. My point is not how near you are to the sea, it is that you are in a remote region with very sparse population.
I imagine it is a lovely place to live, but living in an isolated area will have its drawbacks. You cannot expect to have it both ways – delivering services at the same level of a city is very costly.
Bernie, you are asking for the same treatment as the rest of the country… Well how about when we in Dublin each get our own phone mast then you can have one too? I’m probably right in guessing that there are less people using your mast than there are using the one nearest my home.
I live in Dublin 15…..no coverage in house, neighbours report same problem
Joey’s right. Some idiot would be about protesting about radio waves. Idiots.
Look I and all of my counterparts pay just as much taxes as you people in Dublin, but yet we do not get the same services, come on let’s be honest about this… I also pay “USC” tax, Prop Tax, Car Tax(for shite roads) at least you have good roads.. all I am saying at this day and age is it not too much to expect to at least have good coverage all over the Country for mobile phones…oh yea on the 5th Oct 2013 there was NO coverage where I live all because we had a “Féile Bia” and that attracted at least 7000 ppl into the penininsula.. And you tell me about Demand and Supply!! I know that is for one day but I can assure you it happens a way more than that on a normal day!!! Why do they take our money if they cannot deliver the service???
Why do you give them money if they don’t deliver a service?
Another silly thing Apple do to control their products
You’re an idiot.
Even my samsung S3 has 4G capability!! Apple will always be playing catch up
Yes but do you have 4G running on it? No, you don’t. That’s the point.
The iPhone 5, 5C and 5S all have 4G capability
@enda Are you sure? Do you have the Lte version?
@karol How do you know he doesn’t? There’s nothing stopping him, 4g SIM on a 4g network and he’s away.
Ha ha…. but do you live in a 4g area…. bet you didn’t think of that one… :-/ android all the way…
You can live without 4G. The 3G speeds in certain parts of Dublin City are more than enough for general users. I’m sure that the “verification” by Apple is to ensure a top user experience. Can’t complain with that.
… Apple fan boy
Android fan boy
Steve jobs would hate apple if he was born again today, a huge company that controls everything the users can do, try download U torrent on iTunes store. You can’t, while its on the play store for all the rest of us and we can download all the free albums and movies we want for free. I read his autobiography he invented apple for to take down the big corporate company that saves all your information and look at what they have become.
I have no interest on watching films on my phone. And I have a fantastic app called Anyplay that streams every single album there ever was for free to my phone. So I don’t need utorrent at all. Enjoy downloading a nice aul virus your dirt phone. I’ll enjoy a secure, beautiful, perfect piece of technology.
The way you are talking about your phone is pretty creepy man.
Karol, tell me more about this anyplay app.
Karl that’s cos your tiny iPhone screen is too small right?
I think you’ll find it was Wozniak that want everything for free with apple. (Open source. Not sure if that’s the right term.) Jobs didn’t. He wanted to control everything. What happens when artists stop making music because they are no longer making any money because you and all your android mates are downloading it for free
Yeah I’m here downloading kanye west and the likes new albums I don’t think they have enough money maybe we should start up a fund and do a whip around the poor lad is broke. Anyway I’ll keep going with my free ebooks, music and movies that I can all put through my tv(not just watching on my phone). And you keep buying apples “new” phones and being limited.
Daniel, having a slightly bigger screen wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference to me. I don’t even watch films on my Ipad. I like a big tv screen for that.
Emmet,
The app no longer exists. I assume because it’s like a free version of spotify and was taken down. It still works fine though as long as you have it. Sorry to disappoint you but it is by far the best app I have ever had.
It can no longer be downloaded…and you are defending apple for being amazing and they take away a great app…FACEPALM.
It’s not on android either. FACEPALM..
Could ye all stop wrecking heads please, ye sound like yer 8.
Thought we have been through this already… Don’t need the app can download all the music I want straight to my phone no need to stream.
@jack not everyone that has a smartphone lives in dublin.
Sorry Johnny,
Forgive me,
I’m 9 by the way
Yes but leave the cretins alone to buy the ios kit whilst we reap the rewards of uncontrolled media content. They aren’t computer literate. They have iTunes we have wrzko.
Good lad Elvis.
Hey popey ye got out of jail yesterday.remember my prediction I made during the summer?are you worried yet?
It may surprise you elephant but I don’t remember your prediction. Probably because I couldn’t give a bollix. What happened to your picture
I’m sure Apple couldn’t give fiddlers about the user experience “verification”, a nice thick brown envelope stuffed with cash is what they are really after.
I’m undergoing a makeover at the moment.does mid table team jog your memory?
No, it doesn’t. 6 points is nothing nelly the elephant. Nothing I tell you
Ha!ye couldn’t even score in the champions league during the week.why did the players congratulate Rooney for hittin the post before the og?things are bad when the pat him on the back for hitting the post
Ha ha you’re insane. Who else would they congratulate. He murdered the team turned them inside out and hit the post with a beautiful effort. Lethal player
He didnt score though.will they congratulate him for turning up next?clutching at straws
The last person the touch the ball before the og always gets congratulated. #stoptalkingshite
Apple fan boy? It’s Samsung fan boys and iPhone w@nkers!
Yes Karl but u can plug your android into your big screen I have my I pad my I phone 4 but my s3 plugs into my TV no Netflix r anything needed
Now now Daniel Wilson, don’t be slagging Karol’s tiny screen, it’s perfectly well designed to fit in his handbag.
So you condone theft then Paul? Or did I misinterpret you??
Yes they do……
Both Apple AND Samsung insist on certifying their devices for use on LTE/4G networks. The tests focus on generous continuous coverage, data speeds and handoff to seamless legacy technologies.
I’m surprised with Meteor/Eircom already launched that certification is still going on – might say something about the speed the rollout of their 4G.
You clearly have no clue about the role Steve Jobs played in making apple the closed proprietary ecosystem it is today.
This country has the worse Internet infrastructure I’ve ever witnessed! They have high speed broadband on top of Everest, in the outback in Oz, in tiny huts in Africa and were only a fraction in size and we can’t cover the area! We’re a laughing stock! Dial up all over again!
I have never heard such complete bullshit.
You need to move to a hut in the outback of Everest Karol.
You’ll hear it all from there.
Ireland is in the top 85% globally with our broadband.. you haven’t clue!
The only internet connection achievable on top Everest would be -
Satellite
Poor bandwidth, poor latency
The only internet connection available in somewhere remote like the Oz outback would be again (Satellite)
What exactly do you know about Internet infrastructure in Africa? Internet connectivity, from my experience, is moderate to poor even in the largest cities (Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg) I think you’re talking out of your ass!
We have excellent Data Communications infrastructure in this country why do you think we have huge IT net companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter establishing their European bases here, do you think their data centers are connected over dial up?
The problems in Ireland are the bureaucracy and bullsh*t in bringing the service to ordinary customer, largely impeded by Eircoms monopoly over the years and poor planning.
Jaysus you’re full of $hite
The smell a ya
Everest base camp and Ethiopia both have an internet service running 3g… I can’t attest to the other locations but it wouldnt surprise me. So it’s really not complete bullshizz, unlike your comment.
@Dave King. 3g service is a merely a delivery medium, it does not guarantee x bandwidth at x latency! Even in Ireland 3g connectivity can range from 7Mb/s in Dublin to 50kb/s in Leitrim. Most African cities have 3g (Check out mtn.com) but a 3g network is only as good as the data network that supports it.
We actually have excellent backbone data infrastructure in this country (Check out http://www.e-net.ie/), the problems are allowing the consumer access to the network and at competitive price!
I think you’ll find that you’re the laughing stock with limited comments such as those
@Kieran
Top 85% globally? That doesn’t sound like a very good stat. That means we could be in the bottom 15%.
Luke,
Being in the top 85% means we are in the top 85%.
Being in the bottom 15% means we would be in the bottom 15%.
Please tell me you’re not that dumb. Please.
Why would anyone provide 3g for the top of everest or a mud hut in Africa?
For all the people who who think we’ve a great Internet system you obviously haven’t stepped outside a major town
Clown
Clown!
@ larry you are deluded my poor chap
@Kieran. I imagine you know very little about the internet, Data Networks or very much about anything for that matter. WTF is an ‘Internet System’?
@john f: I know enough that if you’re in a rural area in this country you’re Internet/broadband/mobile network is pretty much non-existent! The geography of our broadband infrastructure is so lob sided that it suits only a certain few! If you can prove that to be incorrect then you’re the first and only person to do so! Fair play to ya!
Have a look at irelandoffline.org and then come back Johnny
Who cares? I have 120 Meg UPC! :D
Call UPC and they will give you a free upgrade to 150mb :)
The sooner the better. All I’m hoping is that 3 IRL’s LTE signal is a lot better indoors than their 3G. Switching to ‘No Service’ or back to GPRS in central Dublin just isn’t good enough.
If HSDPA was rolled out properly with sufficient network bandwidth behind it…. No one would care about 4G.
Apple take the absolute and always believe they’re the cream of the crop, but that’s changing.
It’s hilarious, every time an article about Apple comes out you have all the android trolls coming out from under their bridges trying to justify their hatred for the superior Apple products.
No one cares lads. Go back to your bridge believing your shitty little android phone is better. Ha ha.
hypocritical much?
Trolling? Coming from the man who at the minute who has 7 comments
Each to their own Karol, you like apple as do many others, others like android, some like both. You’re entitled to your opinion, as is everyone else! Live and let live, each to their own. Just because people don’t agree with your opinion doesn’t give you the right to be a troll, or a hypocrite for that matter also.
;) all in good fun lads
Karol care to put up a complete list of the iPhone 5s spec vs the Galaxy S4 spec to back up your argument? Bottom line is that with the rather marginal differences in the handsets it largely comes down to personal preference.
@karl I have both u obviously don’t android is light years ahead of my I phone 4.
@Laura, why not take the time to read your earlier comment Laura? And now you say each to their own.. God I can’t believe I’m allowing myself to get drawn into this, obviously bored
Yawn
@Karol spot on the Andriod trolls are on here in droves samsung love ripping off apple ideas watch the next S5 come out with a 64bit processor again playing catchup to apple!
@mac samsung ripping off Apple? How’s iOS7 working out for you? Looks more than a little like Android ice Cream Sandwich don’t you think? Also Samsung are not catching up to anyone. Any quick search for info will inform you the the tide has turned in favour of Samsung and Android.
Apple without Steve Jobs is a company in freefall. Not a single innovative idea since Jobs passed.
Android, IOS & Windows are all fine systems. Which one is best for you depends on your requirements.
I have used both android & IOS but will be getting the new nokia 1520 whenever it is available.
Richard,
You are comparing a current android phone to an iPhone 4, really? The 4 is nearly 4 years old, compare to the current crop of phones, in benchmarks the 5s is much faster, and as apps are released to make use of the 64bit chip will only get faster.
Actually a spec sheet is a pointless comparison, android is inefficient compared to ios, it needs more ram and a higher clocked cpu to perform even close to ios, this is because it’s apps run in a vm.
bench marks (which samsung has been shown to cheat on) are a measure of performance, in many cases the 5s is twice as fast as the s4.
http://anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review/5
In fact in many cases the older 5 beats the s4
@smv I’m sorry show me a 64 bit OS and processor in a current gen Andriod phone?oh wait is that the sound of silence? Come back to me when Samsung come from behind Again!
@larry, have I forced my opinion on anybody? Have I slandered apple? Have I slandered android? Like I said each to their own…..it’s no excuse for trolling or karols behaviour. You might be bored and obviously a bit tired because you most certainly did not read my comments. Maybe you should read them again yourself before suggesting I do so. I work in telecoms and provided accurate insight as to why this scenario arose with apple in Ireland. Not speculation, not my opinion, just the facts.
My behavior? Have a day off Laura.
I rarely see a 3G signal! Why run when our providers can’t even walk or even crawl? We pay for premium service and get a sub standard service and that goes across all telecommunications services in Ireland.
I reckon if you are paying for 3G and cannot get the coverage you shouldn’t have to pay the full price.
Only in Internet speeds can you pay the same price as someone who is getting 4 or 5 times the value as you.
It would serve as an incentive to get all the lines upgraded that’s for sure..
I thought only women used iphones
Even the hipsters are switching to Android
Thats it Apple will launch 2 new models soon. Iphone 6 and iphone 6 s :)
And allllllllllll the stupid will line up again …
Jesus but fanboys be they apple or android are boring!!!
I know this one!…. apple wont test until 4g goes live, unlike other manufacturers who test while it’s in development and roll out software updates to support 4g at launch. Even the existing iphone5 is 4g compatible, not just the new 5s and 5c and none of them are LTE (4g) enabled yet. Be curious to see how long it takes them to roll out the 4g to their handsets, might be a nice xmas pressie for all the apple fan boys!! :-)
This is funny, because 4G has been supported at launch in a number of other European countries. Last one I can think of is Bouygues Telecom which launched its 4G network in France at the end of September and got 4G support on the iPhone 5 the same day as long as people had updated to iOS7.
More likely explanation:
- The Irish carriers have been pretty slow at carrying out the tests requested by Apple (which rightly or not would be more demanding than other manufacturers – I am getting information from my brother who did work on these things at Bouygues Telecom)
- Apple is not making too many efforts either as Ireland is a small market with limited competition which is clearly not their top priority
“Ireland is in the top 85% globally with our broadband.. you haven’t clue!”
Does that not mean we’re in the bottom 16%?
Hi boris, your brother is right but its not solely up to the networks, the manufacturer has to develop and test their 4g software before rollout. Most do it when the infrastructure is in development, but you hit the nail on the head. “Little old ireland” syndrome. Apple wouldn’t complete this testing until it went live first to test real time parameters and stability. I work in telecoms also.
Spot on Laura, do you want a job? pm me
Lads, seriously? They are both great phones and it really depends on personal preference. I don’t think anyone commenting under a Journal article about 4G is going to change anyone’s opinion on either phone.
It certainly would I’d imagine, 4G will be a big benefit to many people, if it wasn’t they wouldn’t be spending 100′s of millions rolling it out. And if you want 4G you won’t be buying the new iPhone. But there is plenty of options available for 4g so I’d imagine anyone that wants it just won’t buy an IPhone. Unless extremely brand loyal.
Sry read ur comment wrong, yeh commenting here is just a bit of a firefight for the fanboi’s to pass their Sunday.
The technology is there. why do they not invest in it. Also in Hi fiber Broadband. Many places in Ireland have not got Broadband at all.
Got to love the myrmidons who come on here, immediately re-iterating their love for all things Apple, or samsung…. A nation of narrow-minded walking cliches….
4G…..mere peasants I call thee. LTE +A…… I’m sure Ireland will get it…. In about 10 years
YouWinThePrize.jpg
Did London not just get 4g a few months back ?? R am I mistaken. Anyway im waitn on the blame Enda people to come forth !
Ah ya can’t beat the auld Nokia :)
Good to go on my BlackBerry z10
4G in Ireland – Big marketing slogan and that’s all. Why?
3G is more than anough for anything you would normally do on smartphone or tablet (www, email, using various apps, skype, youtube, etc.) for 99% of people.
However if you really need 4G this most likely means you are transferring extraordinary amounts of data, much more than average person (perhaps HD streaming, uploading large numbers of high res photos on the go, etc.). I can only imagine that could be someone like journalist, photographer, some folk that report on live world events, etc.
But then, there’s catch – largest data bundle on Meteor package is 6GB allowance per month.
Considering your 4G works at rate of 20 Mbit/s (just average assumption) – then if you constantly download / upload some multimedia – your monthly allowance of data will be breached in less than 1 hour. Yes, in less than 60 minutes you could be out of your bundled data plan for full month.
This is real problem, not that Apple is checking something :)
Ok. What about an update of Civil Unions to afford more rights to partners, similar to the rights one would have in a marriage?
I’m not bigoted, a homophobe, or religious but I believe marriage should remain solely for male/female relationships, its a been a cornerstone to our society for thousands of years and I think it should remain that way and I would imagine many people (each with their own view) share my opinion.
Oh lol, wrong thread.. fail fail, damn you hangover! :P
When are phone manufacturers going to produce all their phones with dual sim capability & upgrade the ancient sim cards which only hold just over 200 numbers, drives me bonkers trying to back up all my numbers to the phone because the sim card has a crap memory!
Samsung/HTC are more advanced & have better tech specs, cameras etc- but a fall from 2ft & they break to pieces- apple lower spec but tough & cheaper to repair screens etc (which are less likely to break anyhow), depends what your after- reliability or better tech specs- personal taste! !
I was in Vietnam recently & the cost of unlimited broadband is just about €2.99 per month & Wi Fi is free in all hotels & restaurants. Clever people they are!
Can anybody explain why the internet allowance cap is so small in Ireland? I was looking I to getting an iPhone when I return home from abroad as I’m using one now happily.
With meteor it’s €60 for 6GB of data per month and €50 for 3GB!!
A big chun of that is going to pay for the phone. E-mobile have a sim only plan with unlimited calls texts & data for about €30 a month
No bad, I’ll look into so. And also first about getting my phone unlocked!
3s flexi packages give you 20gb.
Even their €20 per month prepay gives you 15gb.
They have newer unlimited packages for under €40 a month for everything, calls, texts and data.
I found their coverage better in some parts of Wicklow and Gorey than O2.
It’s best, albeit a little patchy around Dublin (and to be fair – I don’t find it any more patchy than I found O2 around Dublin).
Our home broadband is pretty poor as we are some distance from the exchange, so I use my 3G for uploading as the speeds are better (which is probably more an indication of how poor our DSL connection is than anything else!!)
@Giz.. Three give a high data allowance because the performance of their data service is so terrible you’d never be able to consume the 20GB, even if you left it downloading 24/7
Apple is a hoe ….Peruod
Are you on your peruod?
Love my little Nokia ;)
Love my little Nokia
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