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A Truvada pill. Maurizio Gambarini

HIV drug may be more affordable after European court ruling

The case now returns to the English High Court for a final decision.

THE EUROPEAN COURT of Justice has delivered a ruling that could lead to wider access to affordable PrEP and significant savings on HIV treatment for the HSE.

Pharma giant Gilead was today unsuccessful in a case relating to its HIV drug Truvada. The original patent for Truvada —a combination medicine used both for treatment of HIV and for prevention when used by HIV-negative people — expired in July of 2017.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a once daily medication that can significantly reduce risk of infection among HIV-negative people at high risk.

To date, PrEP has only been available to buy on prescription at a price of over €400 a month in Ireland. In December, generic drugs company Teva Pharmaceuticals confirmed its more affordable, generic version of the medication would be made available in pharmacies in Ireland, on foot of a doctor’s prescription.

Irish exclusivity for the drug hinged on Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) obtained by Gilead. Gilead had sought an injunction against generics manufacturers to prevent the sale of the cheaper drugs.

In January of 2017 the English High Court submitted an application to the European Court for guidance in a dispute over the validity of the SPC for Truvada in England and Wales. Although the ECJ did not make a final determination as to the validity of the contested SPC, the court affirmed the English court’s conclusion that the original patent did not specify the combination of drugs in Truvada.

The case now returns to the English High Court for a final decision.

Act Up, a HIV activist organisation which campaigns for the freer availability of PrEP, said the decision was promising news.

Spokesperson Andrew Leavitt said:

“We hope this will close one of the loopholes that pharmaceutical companies have exploited to unfairly extend their monopolies even when they’ve made billions in profits during the regular patent life.”

A number of groups are calling for PrEP to be introduced under the HSE general medical services scheme.

Drugs supplied under the scheme are available through prescription from a doctor, for people with medical cards, and can be received from any pharmacy that has an agreement with the HSE, who cover the costs.

The World Health Organisation released guidelines last year recommending that oral PrEP should be offered as an additional prevention choice for people at substantial risk of HIV infection.

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12 Comments
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    Mute Liam Byrne
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:12 PM

    Despite the veiled threats from my family and the failures of the government, I have not had my child baptised. Nor will I ever.
    I shouldn’t have to and anyone who thinks that I should do it for his sake is missing the point. I AM doing it for his sake!

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    Mute Bernard
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:22 PM

    Good on you Liam. I had no choice and was forced into it, despite being against the Catholic religion. It’s a brainwashing cult and through the ages has propagated the “penance and suffering” associated with the “oppression” of the Irish.

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    Mute ChocSaltyBallz
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:25 PM

    Good man same situation here the more my family pushed the less interested I became, although my child is in a Catholic school we had no problem with getting my unbaptised child in it. its known as a hard one to get into and still no problem we paid a deposit to another and still no problem I went in there with my child to both schools with a non hostile attitude and they absolutely loved my little bubbly girl I really don’t see the problem I would have gone to a non denominational school but there’s none near me or none good enough.

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    Mute jenni
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:48 PM

    all schools should be given back to the state..and only run by boards of management with no denomination. And that includes Muslim schools. Their highest imam still lives in Dublin, with no case brought against him at all .All schools should be non denominational.

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    Mute Jester VonDoom
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:51 PM

    its not right to force a particular belief system on a child who can’t consent, leave that until they are old enough to make mature decisions for themselves

    88
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    Mute Con O Sullivan
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 10:21 PM

    Bernard, poor you, you could not stick to your convictions and sent your child to be educated by those you despise, and about the suppression of the irish maybe you should look to the Brits for that. Are you self hating yourself now ?

    22
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    Mute Justin Healy
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 10:58 PM

    Did the same ourselves. I’d much rather all religion was thought rather than just one religion forced on young kids but the school were happy to take my kids. Sure why wouldn’t they be they’re great! (I may be very biased)

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    Mute ChocSaltyBallz
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:21 PM

    That’s what they do in Sweden everyone has a go even if it’s a religion that no pupils belive in its been taught.

    13
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    Mute Sinead Hanley
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 12:28 AM

    I am a practising Catholic but I don’t think parents should be “forced” to baptise in order to get into schools. In our local school there are a few atheists and other religions so there are no issues re religion. It only seems to be a problem when there is a pressure for places.

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    Mute Tipper Irie
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    Aug 4th 2016, 7:46 AM

    It is not just an issue where there is pressure for places, no organisation should be allowed to even consider excluding a four year old child on religious grounds. Even when accepted into the school the battle around participation in religious instruction starts. The places argument is akin to stating that only accepting black children when all white children have been accepted is acceptable.

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    Mute Chris Kirk
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    Aug 4th 2016, 10:50 AM

    Liam, so you are a lone parent……

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    Mute Max Power
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:23 PM

    While I don’t agree with preference to Catholics I would like to see what would happen if a Catholic tried to enter a Muslim school

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    Mute Tipper Irie
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:26 PM

    When Muslims control 96% of the schools in Ireland then it will be a fair comparison. It should also be pointed out people are looking for equal access to education for all children irrespective of their parents faith or lack of faith.

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    Mute Just Some Guy
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:37 PM

    Muslims will never control schools in Ireland. stop taking crap Tipper Irie

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    Mute Max Power
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:50 PM

    I mean if we were in their country

    29
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    Mute jenni
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:55 PM

    nothing. Look at the amount of muslims, in France, that went to Catholic mass on Sunday, to show all Muslims do not subscribe to thd lunatic movement.

    38
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    Mute P. ENNIS
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:55 PM

    In some Muslim majority countries if your a Christian you would be executed so i think getting a good primary school to send your kids or discrimination would be the last thing on your minds

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    Mute Jester VonDoom
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:57 PM

    ‘their country’? plenty of muslims call Ireland their country

    28
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    Mute jenni
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 10:05 PM

    and maybe they do, and theres nothing wrong with that. But we can’t be doing with double standards..so your Irish or your not.And you want to be Irish..or you don’t. we tolerate a lot. When are we going to cop on?

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    Mute rodrigo detriano
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 10:30 PM

    After all that went on with The Church of Rome condoning grand scale child abuse and rape, we still have that evil organisation dictating our education. Maybe the so called outrage expressed by endless politicians and Irish people in general was only window dressing. I can only assume child abuse and rape isn’t seen as that out of the ordinary after all. It’s scandalous and very, very frightening

    26
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    Mute Greg Kelly
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:59 PM

    Yet the minute non faith and “secular” schools such as educate together become available like in USA, UK or France which strips away our heritage and culture every parent then runs off to get their kids into faith schools because of their ethos and grades.

    Even the atheists like Nick Clegg former leader of Lib Dems in UK sends his children to a Catholic school!!

    Look at the UK prinary school league tables this year:
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/03/14/primary-school-tables-faith-schools-dominating-rankings/

    Even the atheists do:

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/jan/06/faith-schools-jewish-education-atheism

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 5:34 PM

    Nick Clegg has repeatedly said that he is NOT an atheist, and his wife is Catholic and wanted their children to attend a Catholic school – sigh!

    You are relying on people not clicking those links, aren’t you.

    In the first case, the schools at the top of the league are less representative of their local community, and accused of ‘creaming off’ the best performing middle class kids for pupils – so that is how they get their results.

    In the second case, the father is atheist but the mother is an Israeli Jew and they are sending their child to the school to be able to learn Yiddish and keep up with the culture of their maternal grandparents.

    So riddle me this joker: if the reason schools have high standards is BECAUSE they are faith schools, as you assert, how do you explain the radical differences in outcomes in Irish schools where practically all the schools are faith schools? Could it be that your Holy Childs and Blackrock Colleges churn out young adults with good Leaving Cert results for other reasons?

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    Mute Beachmaster
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:12 PM

    Is The Journal trying to break a record for the most articles on the same subject in a day?

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    Mute Get Lost Eircodes
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:28 PM

    Would love Iif they were this hot & heavy with anti Eircode articles…

    17
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    Mute jenni
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:50 PM

    i thought the same thing beach..slow newsday in journal towers today.

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    Mute Team Tariq
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:54 PM

    It’s a series on a particular topic. The word series is an indicator of more than one and can be as many articles as are deemed fit to adequately cover the topic in detail. Will you be needing a hand putting on your socks tomorrow morning also?

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    Mute Team Tariq
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:56 PM

    ‘slow news day’ = I need my Muslim-bashing fix.

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    Mute jenni
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:58 PM

    you are so condescending tariq. and stop calling yourself team..you are alone now goodnight. i’m tired..from reading you’re sad attempts..at just about everything.

    25
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    Mute tony doran
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:01 PM

    The answer seems simple to me. Just make it illegal for schools to ask what religion a child is. You can’t do it in a job interview so how come they are still allowed the freedom to ask? Time for the Catholic Church to bugger off if you pardon the pun!

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    Mute Joey_Westland
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:37 PM

    Catholic school – Catholic ethos.
    That’s the constitutionally protected reality.
    The secularists should busy themselves doing something positive about the lack of places for their own kids rather than wasting their time and energy in the lost cause of blaming Catholicism for their problems.

    26
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    Mute Carl Nolan
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 10:59 AM

    That would be a perfectly reasonable thing to say if it wasn’t for the uncomfortable fact that Catholic schools get their funding from our taxes. Catholic, jew, muslim, atheist, your money is used to fund schools that can legally give you the finger.

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 4:24 PM

    Catholic school – Catholic ethos.
    100% state-funded (and often built) school – open to all citizens equally.
    The state funds education providers to deliver the state education system – if you cannot do it inclusively, then you should not get the funding. The constitution may protect your right to have a Catholic ethos, but you have NO right to the massive preferential state funding that Catholic patrons still enjoy – so I would keep your head down and hope it is not taken away!
    I sincerely hope for your sake that when we do have a 21st Century education system, Catholics will not be discriminated against in access to that system – I will fight for equality for you if you are.

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    Mute Shane Goodwin
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:45 PM

    So the first lesson you teach a 4/5 year old child starting school is its ok to discriminate based on religion.That their friend on there road be it irish foreign whatever has to travel to a different school because there in a way the child doesn’t understand different!!

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 4:26 PM

    Good old style segregation!

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    Mute Matt Dillon
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:52 PM

    If your lucky to get membership to a golf club!You will be happy to abide by the rules!!

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    Mute Jester VonDoom
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 10:12 PM

    not if you are forced to join the golf club

    37
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    Mute Matt Dillon
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 7:29 AM

    Your not forced to join the school.

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    Mute Carl Nolan
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 11:01 AM

    Don’t be so naive. If parents had a choice of schools this would be a non-issue.

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 2:59 PM

    And what if you are paying the same fees as everybody else, but you are either not allowed to use the club or are treated as second class and only allowed to join if they need you to keep up their numbers to get extra money? Like it used to be no blacks, no jews in some golf clubs, except that not only are you excluded or treated differently, but you will still be paying the same as all the other members at the same time! When asked why you cannot attend, even though you are paying the same as everybody else, they will advise you to go to a club ten miles away in the next town and try to get a place there, but you should be aware that only 4% of clubs in the whole country will accept you! Meanwhile, you have to keep paying the same fees as everybody else!

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 3:06 PM

    So we know that a majority of Irish people now say they want non-denom or multi-denom schools, and yet the state is still allowing Catholic patrons to control our 100% state funded and resourced (and maintained and often re-built by the state) education system in nearly all cases.

    That is not on. Until such a time as the state can get the church to live up to its promise to hand over a lot of buildings to be re-opened as multi-d schools (as a token payment towards the 1.5 billion bailout the state unwisely gave to religious orders to pay redress payments to victims of the orders’ past abuse), I do not think we should have Catholics dictating to us what we should and should do in our state education system. The funding is not to do what patrons wish – it is to deliver the state education system equally to the children of all citizens, without discrimination and prejudice.

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    Mute James Onedin
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:34 PM

    If you don’t want a religious education for your children, don’t send your children to a school run by a religious order. Seemples.

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    Mute Joey_Westland
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:38 PM

    Amazing they don;t get it really.
    It’s so simple.

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    Mute James Onedin
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 12:04 AM

    Yup, seemples!

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    Mute ED
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 2:50 AM

    Don’t let the fact that the vast majority of schools in Ireland are Catholic get in the way of your logic..

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    Mute Carl Nolan
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 11:03 AM

    Scary how many people upvoted this.

    Imagine the uproar if I used taxpayer money to open a Muslim hospital that gave priority to Muslims. Once they’re on the wrong side of discimination these fools might start to realise why this isn’t ok.

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 3:34 PM

    As they soon might be – given that practising Catholics are now in a minority in this country. It is instructive that Educate Together schools welcome all parents and families – including Catholic ones – but that the increasing number of non-religious Irish families have to go with the begging bowl to gain entry to an education system that is entirely state funded, supported and – in very many cases – built by all of us via the state.

    I have to say that these people trying to lord it over us and telling us to get to the back of the bus are not a very good advertisement for their religion – not at all. Not a smidgeon of embarrassment that the state funds, manages, supports, maintains, builds the whole shebang and yet they seek only to look after their own. Their so-called patrons contribute not one red cent or anything at all except the imposition of their ethos onto what is essentially a state education system.

    Not one smidgeon of embarrassment that we as a people have given religious orders the most scandalous bail out since the bank bail out so that they do not have to pay their own debt to the victims of their past abuse – the bill we are all lumbered with is now at 1.5 BILLION, and the token 350 million that the orders said they would give to the state in cash and buildings has not transpired (you would think you could trust their word) and many of the buildings have since been put beyond reach by the orders in trusts.

    So it is brazenly insulting to tell the rest of us to sod off as you continue to monopolise our state education system.

    Do you have the same view about our hospitals – which through the same anomaly are still controlled by religious orders who ‘own them’ and run them in line with their Catholic ethos – even though we all via the state fund, manage, run, maintain, build those hospitals, with the church and order contributing precisely nothing – and we even give them funding to appoint and pay salaries for Catholic only chaplains. Would you also put us at the bottom of the list in our own hospitals, just because they too are controlled by religious orders?

    It’s time the state cut funding to these groups big time.

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    Mute James Onedin
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 8:58 PM

    Ya Carl, it would be awful. But if the same Muslim schools had been established by and funded by Muslims in the first place, then you’d have a more complex problem on your hands. Without the Catholic schools, there woukd have been little or no education in this country over the last two hundred years.

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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:47 PM

    Realistically would you expect a Catholic school to deny a Catholic child a place in order to accommodate a child who is not a Catholic? Likewise for other religion patronaged schools? It is a question of over subscription for places. If places remain after the Catholic applicants are accommodated then others can be accommodated. However they must not seek to undermine the Catholic ethos.

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 2:52 PM

    Then stop taking our money and pay for it yourself!

    It’s not a matter of over-subscription if nearly 100% of fully state-funded, supported, staffed, maintained, re-built schools are controlled by religious groups and are allowed to discriminate on a whim of their own choosing – for example when there are enough school places in a local area but the school will take a Catholic child from outside the area above a non-Catholic child who lives across the road! Imagine if they said, look if we’re over-subscribed we will prioritise white children?!

    It would not be such a big problem were it not for the fact that this is OUR state education system – paid for 100% by all of us, including the buildings (with the church patron contributing nothing whatsoever except the imposition of the ethos), and if it were not for the fact that religious patrons have been allowed privileged access to funding so that they monopolise nearly 100% of our state education system.

    It is immoral and unjust and I am surprised that more religious people – who claim to be kind and moral – can not see it that way – although I agree some of the bishops do – how can they not when they know how much the state has bailed them out with the redress scheme (1.5 billion) and when they know how much they owe still to the state that they have not paid?

    Your dictating about whether you would allow non-Catholic children into ‘your’ schools (paid for and resourced 100% by all of us, including the buildings) and then dictating that they must not seek to undermine the Catholic ethos (how would a four-year-old seek to do that) is breath-taking. If you continue trying to hold Irish people to ransom this way with our state education system, you will end up with no funding and then you will have to come begging to ET schools for a place for your child – but don’t worry – ET schools accept all children and do not discriminate – many Catholic parents already choose ET – so your small child will never be made to feel that if they say the wrong thing they may ‘undermine the ethos’ in their school, or be made to feel different or wrong, or be made to be indoctrinated into anything you or they don’t believe in.

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    Mute Joey_Westland
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:50 PM

    We need schools along strict denominational lines.
    And a few for the tiny minority of atheists as well.
    I mean, what’s the point of having them in religious schools in the first place?
    They’re only clogging up the place as far as I’m concerned.

    16
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    Mute Team Tariq
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 10:02 PM

    The white-washing of catholicisom from the Irish landscape is at an incredibly advanced stage, we’ve come a long way in the last 40 years, we beat the collared hounds on contraception, divorce, civil partnership, gay marriage and shortly the right to abortion too. Sometimes I humour myself by popping my head into one of their Delusion Centres for the Gullible and see a man in a dress talking through a microphone to empty pews, and I ask myself; ‘Who is he talking to? His Delusion Centre is empty’ then I thinh; ‘Ah! It must be his imaginary friend!’ Always gives me a chuckle. Those buildings will make fine market and office space, or even better, housing, something useful anyway.

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    Mute Con O Sullivan
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 10:16 PM

    Nothing changes from the days when your atheist brethren ran The Soviet Union, same old bigoted hatred. of course you would not go up to Clonskeagh and spout you rubbish to them

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    Mute Team Tariq
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 10:54 PM

    Why would I go up to Clonskeagh? Last time I checked the Muslim community in Ireland didn’t imprison Irish women en masse, put them through forced slavery, snatch their children and sell them abroad (often to preying paedophiles) and sexually abuse small children to name just a few of the crimes of the Catholic Church. Stop being an apologist.

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    Mute Joey_Westland
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:34 PM

    Know something Tariq.
    You’re turning into a rabid Trotsyite before our eyes.

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    Mute James Onedin
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 11:54 PM

    Hi Tariq.

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 4:04 PM

    Sad Joey that you are among the very few who still wish to see our children strictly segregated along sectarian lines in our state education system. I hope your church has the money to pay for its own schools, because I cannot see the state being able to do what you say – fund a whole set of schools in every area so that children can be segregated along ‘strict denominational lines’ as you wish. And clearly, since a majority of Irish people now say they have no religion, the state cannot for long continue to justify its preferential treatment of the members of one dwindling church.

    I do hope that when your lot are in a minority, as they soon will be if they are not already, you get kind treatment than you would mete out to anybody not of your own faith. If we have an Educate Together system, we can guarantee that you will. They are civilised and embrace and respect the background of each child. They do not feel that a four-year-old should be silenced if they say anything that might ‘threaten the religious ethos’ like in Catholic schools.

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    Mute Tom Fennelly
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 3:40 AM

    I am no lover of the Catholic Church but when it comes to forcing ones ideals on us nobody does it better than Educate Together and their overpaid CEO

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    Aug 3rd 2016, 3:41 PM

    What do you mean by that? Below are the ET core values – what ideals are being ‘forced’ onto children – their ideals are about doing exactly the opposite of that – it is our Catholic ethos schools that force ideals onto children.

    ET Core Values
    -Equality-based i.e. all children having equal rights of access to the school, and children of all social, cultural and religious backgrounds being equally respected.
    -Co-educational and committed to encouraging all children to explore their full range of abilities and opportunities. -Boys and girls learn and socialise together in the school environment. This approach delivers the best educational and social development for children.
    -Child-centred in their approach to education. Educate Together schools are committed to active learning techniques that encourage children to interact with their peers and teachers while they learn. Educate together schools are focused on helping each individual child reach its full academic and social potential.
    -Democratically run with active participation by parents in the daily life of the school, whilst positively affirming the professional role of the teachers.

    Whilst the concepts of child-centredness and co-educationalism are now widely accepted in Irish primary education, what distinguishes the Educate Together schools is their hard work in developing a culturally inclusive and democratic ethos. This has pioneered unique approaches to inclusion of minority opinions and faiths in the Irish context. The schools have developed education programmes that open the eyes of children to the naturally positive contribution that social, religious and cultural diversity and difference of viewpoint and opinion make to society.

    The other characteristic feature of these schools is that they are democratically organised and governed. This maximises the potential for building a genuine partnership between the professional, objective role of the teacher and the necessarily personal involvement of the parent in their children’s education.

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    Mute David Faulkner
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    Aug 2nd 2016, 9:53 PM

    People are worried about being hypocrites for baptising their child to get into school. Religion is a means to an end and always has been. Use them like they used all their worshippers to line their pockets over the years.

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    Mute Ana Nonymous
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 7:35 AM

    These stories are ridiculous as very often religion is the last criteria applied. In modern Ireland the issue is lack of spaces in the classroom. The chances of getting a child to start school at age 4 are basically non existent and its down to lack of classroom space as with the majority of children he’ll be 5 and a half starting school. My son is number 38 on his schools list, he’s 9 months and not baptised. Religion is not the issue its lack of schools, other criteria effecting this child more is not having a sibling in the school.

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    Mute oldschoolcelt
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 8:53 AM

    If you take your starting point as being that religion is a really, really dumb set of beliefs then you may start to see the problem.

    The time wasted on teaching utter crap as fact is staggering.

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    Mute Tom Burke
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 11:01 AM

    And that’s your opinion which has no bearing on the argument. The fact is the church own these schools. If you think they discriminate, take legal action. I will be mildly amused as you lose your house.

    We will see then who is really stupid

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    Mute Carl Nolan
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 11:05 AM

    Well firstly it totally depends on the school how they prioritise kids.

    Secondly, it doesn’t make one shred of difference how much of a factor it plays in a child’s application. If I told you skin colour was a deciding factor but only a last-resort one how would you feel about that?

    But it’s ok, because it’s mostly down to lack of places and if your sibling is in the school.

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    Mute oldschoolcelt
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 11:35 AM

    Tom, its stupid, and just because its always been stupid is not a defence.

    Finding a solution is paramount no matter how complex or how man subservient religious noses are out of joint.

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    Mute oldschoolcelt
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 1:08 PM

    Also, its not my ‘opinion’. Virgin births are impossible, walking on water is impossible, and so on.

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 4:13 PM

    Clearly Ana you are extrapolating from your own experience and are not aware of the many parents who are in a situation where they cannot get their child into any of their local (state-funded) schools because Catholic children from outside the area will even be considered before them.

    When you say that your child is 38 on the school list, good for you – I put my son’s name down for an Educate Together school when he was an infant and he was about 350 on the list! There is no lack of school places you know. The problem is that there is no room at the inn for unbaptised children in any area where schools are popular, so a local unbaptised child will have to go perhaps 10 miles away while a Catholic child from outside the area gets their place. These are 100% state funded schools and it is just not OK for them to discriminate.

    The less popular Catholic schools that do accept unbaptised children do so because they need to be full to have enough numbers to get the right level of funding from the state.

    I wonder how you can say that religion is not the issue when so many state schools do have admission policies that put unbaptised children at the bottom of their list. If the policy put local black children at the bottom of the list, so they could only be admitted after any white child from anywhere in Ireland who wanted a place, would you think that race was not the issue?

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    Mute Patrick J. O'Rourke
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 12:39 PM

    I might also point out that the T&Cs of many schools include a clause that your child must not disrupt the religious education of others. Basically that means, or so I am told by a teacher, that you must not teach your own children anything that contradicts the religious teaching in the school. That was good enough for me. The best way to fight this child abuse is from within. At home I give them facts and history of the church and all other religions, including the unabridged murder and mayhem caused by them all. I’m just waiting for the day they can explain to the teacher that the time being spent teaching religion at school would be better spent looking for faeries at the bottom of the garden. I’ll draw the line at rewarding them for spreading truth though, that would be a blatant breach of the T&Cs and I might end up driving 60 miles every day instead.

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    Mute Little Diddy No
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 3:51 PM

    Indeed, it is an utter scandal. Our non-religious children are not welcome in our state education system – they are merely tolerated if they keep their heads down – parents are forced to say they will uphold the Catholic ethos of the school, four-year-olds are not to do or say anything that might undermine the Catholic ‘ethos’, and parents must be careful that they don’t teach their child anything that goes against the ethos or the child might say it in class and somehow ‘threaten’ the school’s ethos.

    Nor are our children geting their right to an education that does not offend their beliefs (as guaranteed by the constitution) because the focus is all on not offending the beliefs of Catholic Irish citizens who are now likely in a minority in this country, and yet the whole state education system is set up to cater only to them.

    An utter disgrace in a state education system where the state has allowed the religious to retain a stranglehold over nearly 100% of our schools, while we all pay equally to fund, resource, manage, maintain and re-build all of these schools.

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    Mute Bríd Uí Mhaoluala
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 6:32 PM

    Really? Children cannot question what they hear ? Please name the schools where this is in their entrance policy .

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    Mute Tipper Irie
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    Aug 4th 2016, 7:59 AM

    Brid – Loreto PS Dalkey, children are very much told and are not to question religion. One parent I know as a good friend was called in because his son said he did not believe in God.

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    Mute Bríd Uí Mhaoluala
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    Aug 4th 2016, 1:17 PM

    That’s absolutely shocking .

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    Mute Colm Kelly
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 5:03 AM

    I personally am all in favour of IRA education. Islamic Republic of Iran.. And I want my taxes to support it…why else would the priests and cb’s run the schools?

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    Mute Tomás Ó Briain
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 8:42 PM

    As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our strike for freedom it is ironic that, having got rid of British tyranny, we have sectarian organisations in charge of our schools and a different form of tyranny plaguing our nation. No child should be forced into membership of any sectarian organisation in order to get what is already its right, an education. It is time for the government to tackle this abomination and for it to put freedom from religious discrimination at the top of its agenda. Freedom of religion should never convey the right to discriminate against those of no religion.

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    Mute Aine Foley
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    Aug 3rd 2016, 3:26 PM

    All schools should be secular. So called catholic schools are funded by the government. The church only owns the land in most cases. Children can go to Sunday school if their parents wish.
    My child was baptized before I left the Catholic Church. Her school didn’t care if she was baptized or not (very rural), and there was very little religion taught. Most of the teachers taught extra maths instead!
    She also had a choice from me if she wanted to have her H Communion. She decided yes (what 8 year old doesn’t like dressing up?). The dress was cheap and we went for a meal after; no real fuss. Her step dad is an atheist,I’m agnostic and she’s a devout Catholic teenager, who is in both choirs!!
    Secular schools would solve this debate, and Sunday school would guarantee people really do want to be Catholic. If I had it over again and had been agnostic when she was little, I wouldn’t have baptized her. It’s a hard call for parents. No simple solution at the moment.

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