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Updated 17.31
AMID THE CONTINUING controversy over the death of Indian woman Savita Halappanavar at Galway University Hospital last month, Ireland’s largest-ever education mission to India gets underway today.
Minister of State for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon, is leading the week-long mission to New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai in the hope of increasing the number of Indian students coming to study in Ireland.
“We will be sending out a strong message to prospective Indian students that an Irish education is valued by international employers and will provide a real boost to their future career prospects,” Cannon said in a statement.
The mission was planned months ago, TheJournal.ie understands, and officials were not keen to cancel it despite the considerable concern raised in India at the death of 31-year-old Savita last month.
A statement from the Department of Education later this afternoon confirmed that the trip was “planned well in advance of the very tragic death of Savita Hallapanavar (sic)”.
The statement continued:
The Minister is leading the largest-ever education mission from Ireland, with approximately 60 high level representatives of 16 Universities, Institutes of Technology and other third level colleges. The primary objective of the mission is to improve Ireland’s visibility in India as a destination for high-quality third level and post-graduate study. The mission will be strongly industry-focused, promoting Ireland’s attractiveness as a study destination in ICT, life sciences and other high technology areas.Minister Cannon has not scheduled any meetings concerning the death of Savita Hallapanavar (sic) during his trip to India. However, if the Minister is asked about the case, he will, of course, express the condolences of the people of Ireland to Ms Halappanavar’s family and explain the steps that the Irish Government is taking in relation to the arrangements for the investigation.
The Indian government last week expressed concern at the death of Savita who died last month following a miscarriage and subsequent blood poisoning.
Her family claim that she was denied an abortion despite repeated requests to hospital authorities. Speaking from India, Savita’s mother has said her daughter was “killed” by health authorities in Ireland.
The Indian government has taken the position of awaiting the outcome of the two inquiries set up into Savita’s death, neither of which appear to have got under way at this point.
A HSE inquiry into her death has hit trouble in recent days after Savita’s husband, Praveen Halappanavar, said he would not cooperate with it and called for a more independent inquiry.
The education mission has the 60 academics from 16 higher educations travelling under the umbrella brand of ‘Education In Ireland’.
Officials from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), IDA Ireland, and the online payments company Paypal are also on the mission with Cannon who said in his statement that this is a “huge opportunity for Ireland.”
“Indian students are highly sought after by top-class education institutions around the world and we want more of them to choose Ireland,” he said.
Some 1,000 Indian students study in Ireland at the moment, most taking up post-graduate degree courses in engineering, pharma, business, accounting, computer sciences and hospitality.
Cannon said there was further benefit to be gained from international students studying in Ireland, saying that they can help create local employment.
The Minister of State could not be reached for comment on the timing of the visit yesterday, as he was already in transit to India.
The trip was planned months in advance meaning it was unlikely to be cancelled.
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Go noonan, there is only one way you can satisfy electorate, burn senior bondholders or else loose all respect from us, If you back out.
He looks like a bull dog chewing a wasp, but I think hes the only one with any guts and backbone in the Government and that he has found his place in Finance. Burn ‘em Michael, look after Ireland before the EU currency! The EU will do everything it can to keep the Euro so tell ‘em we will burn them all, close the banks and open our own new bank not linked to EU based on Irish deposits and then see what they have to say about interet rates and corporation tax – tell ‘em will cut that too if they mention it again !
Could Ireland being getting a pair of liathroidi. About time.
Merkle and sarkozi (which my iPhone autocorrects to ‘warlock’ ha!) are so reluctant to burn the bondholders because most of them are French and German. It has everything to do with protecting their own patch and trying to get re-elected, and nothing to do with the good of Europe as a whole. We need to be part of Europe, but the cowtowing and grovelling needs to be over. The bondholders should have to carry their own pain, it was a failed investment. If they could reap the benefits, which they did, they should have to take the burden as well.
It’s like a poker game out there , and Noonan has the face and the balls to get us a better deal .who else would you send ,(he’s from Limerick )
Anyone explain how a Greek default would have consequences for Ireland?
Just wondering.
Putting more debt on top of more debt in Greece is solving nothing………and very bad financial advice…………I hope the people on the streets of Greece win….
The euro is a cobbled together currency and is doomed to failure,its only function is to keep Merkin and Kermit important in their own minds.
Several of the newspaper pundits forecast [ some six months ago ?] that the real crunch would come here in June/July when the fight to pay bills got too much and when the money borrowed from family and friends to avoid the shame of not paying the mortgage dried up.I think one writer gave advice on how to stuff the building society and keep the roof over ones head by using the courts ? Will we see this happen in the next few weeks?
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