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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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Come to Ireland.
We’ll teach you about health and law and charge you €30k P.A. for the privilege.
But don’t get sick or pregnant.
Mmm. Bad timing or what. I’d say you wouldn’t get an Indian to come to Ireland if you paid them, and not just Indians either. This story has received global coverage …… who would want to come to Ireland from any country after news like that ??!
Yes Patrick’ because no Irish citizens have ever died in India?
Patrick , this is total nonsence . The Amid Saviata case was tragic and should not have happened but thankfully is an extremely rare case . Howevever ,i am fully confident if you compared the mortality rate for women and infants at child birth between India and Ireland on pro rata basis you would see that in fact ireland is one of the safest countries in the world to give birth, so this ill considered indignation is not warrented . The Savita case needs to be invistigated , legisalation needs to be put in place but the very fact it is making worlds news tell us what an unsual case this is . I wonder if an Indain lady from the lower “caste” in India would be given a second thought , as sad and disgusting as this is to say it is stil very much the case in India today.
I agree with you both. My point was that this was bad timing and the tragic incident happened a month ago. That being the case and the incident being so fresh, having a “come to Ireland” fare in India at the moment is …… Jesus it’s cheeky really isn’t it ??
Not really Patrick, life goes on, if it didn’t the world would have stayed at a stand still millennia ago
Judging by the tenor of responses so far, and based upon my own experience in both irish and American third level education, I’d say that the idea that Ireland is viewed well abroad is a complete fantasy.
Damien
Of course you’re not waiting. Sure aren’t you an active member of Sinn Fein who have members who really really weren’t Mummy murderers and now want us to believe that they give a toss about human life.
The interesting thing is that the image of Ireland abroad was set over one hundred years ago. The economic bust, IMF coming in and this tragic case won’t change a thing as to how Ireland is perceived. Green grass, saints and scholars, quaintly backward, friendly people who drink a lot of beer.
Ireland needs to have some balls and tell the Indians where 2 go like the Australians did when some Indian students got murdered in Australia. India is a crap hole that should sort itself out.
How did the sensitiveity training go?you passed i see.
750 million living in dire poverty, amazing how they can be so self righteous! Savita’s death was a terrible tragedy, we should wait until the outcome of the investigation before making our own conclusions!
I’m not waiting..I’m drawing the conclusion that the only ‘concern’ of our stand-in ‘government’ is commercial.
Dissuade me.
How long can we expect the Savita thing to be tied in with any story about India or Indian people?
Enough of the Ireland bashing people. Terrible tragedy but compare it to the events happening in other countries that criticise Ireland.
USA killing people in cinemas/high schools death penalty and an illegal Iraq war.UK guilty of illegal war and even bigger social problems than Ireland such as last years riots.
India great record of topping the highest mortality rates in under 5s in the world according to the UN. Extreme poverty and some of the biggest dumps/slums in the world.Not forgetting honour killings too.
Sick of hearing Irish people say there ashamed to be Irish over one death while tragic of a person they never met.Leave the bloody country and handback your passports and renounce your citizenship so. Ireland’s certainly not perfect but it’s better than a hellva lot of places and has some fantastic and friendly people! Rant over!Irish and proud of it.!
Very well said James…I’m Irish and proud to be even with the country in the state it’s in, nowhere is perfect, I think we do a reasonable job for our size, resources etc.
This is whipping up hysteria. The exact cause of death has not been established – there are many theories but the investigation is pending.
while this is pending why put the economy on hold?
I would have to agree. The Journal have a shocking habit of making at best, tenuous links between subjects. They are also writing for SEO so nothing is sacred. Get Savita into every headline.
The reality is that Ireland has a low maternal mortality rate so it’s a safe place to have a baby.
This should be great promotion for the gathering. In fairness, i always thought ‘the gathering’ was a load of bollix anyway.
Creamy
It is possible to express yourself without the gratuitous vulgarity. Leave that to the gutter where it belongs please!
Creamy…it’s the greatest load of bolliks ever!!!
Come to Ireland, experience the Paddywackery and the Tom foolery, enjoy our culture and our ancient feudal reproductive laws.
Awful headline on this article by The Journal between unrelated subjects (in the real sense) but using Savitas name to get more hits. No thought of her grieving family and lack of editorial morals too.
We killed one of your natives now please come and study here?!?! Wtf backwards or wha
Normally I like your comments but that one was pure stupid.
@Tom
Regardless weather you like my comment or not, you can’t disagree that the timing for this is a pure joke. As we get headlines on an international scale about that woman’s death our so called leaders go and try to flog our already maxed out education system. A bit like them flogging has-mat suits to the japanese after fukashima. Backwards and insensitive is correct like it or not. A public apology to the family and a public inquiry’s what’s needed not this.
@ Ryal oneill
we don’t know at this stagewhy the lady died
what should we apologise for ??
Ryan
The libel lawyers will love you tonight!
Indian students come to Ireland….Irish students head to the airport to emigrate for jobs……something wrong there. Look after our own first then worry about the likes of India.
Wonder how long they’ll be waiting on grants/ processing of applications. Utter joke
International student fees are hugely significant source of income for Irish universities.
This isn’t a charity mission.
I would say that funding our universities qualifies as “looking after our own”.
Shame on our government again. It is so insensitive it is sick. Planned or not it should have been cancelled. Like the New York city marathon people may be upset etc but a tragedy like this deserves more support. Typical Irish politicians. Sadly.
::headdesk::
Could all parties please stop commenting on this. I mean politicians, press and public. I feel it is a bit over the top all the foreign press comments on this case, Yes, it was a horrible outcome but please wait for the results of the investigation. Her husband is grieving and should be left alone not on programmes like Prime Time tonight, hoping to improve viewing figures.
Because he was forced on to talk shows by gun point?
Because he wants justice for his dead wife and child. He understands the amount this gov will go to sweep it under the carpet. Fair play to him, let him tell his side of the story. And FYI this is news hence why it’s been published widely in so many formats and on so many forums. Lets all just stick our heads in the sand eh, hope it all goes away or the kinny fairy to make it right….. Eye-curumba
not a fan of the Government,
but i’m sure millions pf Indians would regard Ireland as a great country.
India is a very unequal country
millions suffer hunger
millions of abortions are carried out each year,
& c. 20,000 women die there each year, as a result of abortions.
Ridiculous for anyone to suggest this visit to India should be cancelled. 2 completely unrelated events. Hard truth – life goes on.
Should we not educate our own first?
Sorry but according to interpretation of the Citizenship Referendum back in 2004 we the people voting do not want anybody else recruited to come to Ireland so that they’ll end up on out health and welfare systems, as this happens all the time with students , another batch of whom are allowed to overstay here after compketing their studies, to overstay on the Irish Dole.
And we could get plenty of dentists in Ireland, we didn’t have to import them, as we are actually exporting Irish dentists. Thus if we had to have a proper immigration employment and business system the Halapannavars would not have been here at all, and all this fuss would never have happened.
That’s what you get as a country when you look after everybody but your own, so now we’re stuck in mass immigration and associated abortion.
This death went unreported until the abortionist “Irish Times” newspaper decided to publish it and dress it up: as sensitive material for the masses to cry on so it’s built up like a sad soap opera by television.
http://thoughtactioneire.blogspot.ie/2012/12/breaking-news-discrepancies-in.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fthoughtactioneire+%28Thought+and+Action%29
Thought and Action: Breaking news: “Major Discrepancies in Halappanavar’s story”
thoughtactioneire.blogspot.com
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