Marianne Heron

Once again, women and children were discounted

AS I SEE IT

MARIANNE HERON

IT is said that mistakes are a learning experience. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that they can be … sometimes the same mistakes keep getting made over and over again without the learning so that things would to be done di erently next time around. Addressing the issues around Mother & Baby Homes is a case in point. e weakest members of a society are the easiest to ignore, to abuse, to push around and to mistreat as though they are not entitled to full human rights. In the case of women and children it has been a long, hard struggle to establish those rights and recourse for unmarried mothers, battered wives and abused children.

We have travelled a long way in some respects when it comes distancing ourselves from the past. ese days we nd the punitive attitudes held by society as a whole, not only Church and State but families and fathers responsible for mother and baby homes and industrial schools shocking and unacceptable. en unmarried mothers, their babies and children in di culties were hidden behind the walls of institutions, tra cked into incarceration, forced adoptions, unpaid labour and sometimes death. But it seems attitudes from the past persist. e 2015 Commission Report on Mother & Baby Homes was tasked with giving “a full account of what happened to women and children in Mother & Baby Homes between 1922 and 1998”. When the report was published earlier this year, instead of fully recognising the harm su ered by women and children it caused further trauma by ignoring much of the evidence given by survivors and sidestepping the culpability of Church and State. Once again, women and children were discounted.

Following a storm of controversy, a team of 25 experts were convened and gave an alternative response, strongly disagreeing with report, having analysed the available evidence di erently. e powers-that-be might have learned a lesson from the mistakes of the commission.

But it wasn’t to be. It was announced that the redress scheme set up to compensate the survivors of mother and baby homes was to be limited to those who as children had been in mother and baby homes for more than six months. e dwindling number of mothers were to be compensated fostered children were excluded and the scheme limited to 34,000 survivors. e rational for this decision by civil servants was that the cost of compensating all 58,000 survivors could run to €1.6 billon which “ could derail the support for those most in need.” A conclusion reached in the name of expediency and penny pinching, regardless of the further hurt and distress caused for the excluded.

As a journalist, I heard many stories from those who had su ered due to adoption. e e ects are not something that turn on or o at the ick of a switch at a certain point. e trauma of separation from a birth mother, the lack of early attachment, being sent to unsuitable families or America for adoption, not knowing who exactly you are, not having medical information you need about your birth parents, being denied the possibility of tracing your mother or parents or access to records, even when tracing was meant to be facilitated. e e ects of adoption are for life and it’s worth saying that, for survivors in general, the main issue is not about nancial compensation but about recognition that harm has been wrongfully done to them. e initial announcement about the redress scheme caused a storm, more hurt and con ict was caused to survivors side-lined in the interests of expediency and cost cutting. A rethink is on the cards but not before the harm caused by a lesson unlearned has been done

MOST people in Ireland (89%) agree that we need to be kinder to one another and two in every ve (41%) say that people were kinder during, rather than before, the pandemic, according to new research commissioned by Maxol. e majority of people (87%) feel good when they perform an act of kindness and there is widespread agreement (89%) that we need to be kinder to one another, according to the Maxol research.

However, 85% also say that we need to be kinder to ourselves and that kindness starts with oneself, a sentiment echoed by clinical psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy. is Christmas, give the gift of kindness says Eddie Murphy.

Dr Murphy believes that the best gift we can give this Christmas is the gift of kindness. “ ere are so many things out of our control right now but being kind is the one thing in our lives that’s within our control. ere are many bene ts to being kind and kindness doesn’t have to involve grand gestures. By being inclusive, generous of spirit or perhaps by being kind to a stranger, we can all cultivate and encourage kindness,” he says.

In relation to cultivating kindness, 80% of those surveyed said that kindness should be taught in school. e research ndings were released to coincide with the launch of the 12 Days of Kindness, which is part of Maxol’s annual Christmas campaign to raise much needed funds for mental health charity Aware.

During November and December, 10c from every cup of ROSA Co ee and hot beverage purchased in a Maxol service station is donated to Aware. e campaign is expected to raise €70,000 and to help spread some extra kindness, Maxol is inviting customers to buy a ROSA Co ee for a stranger in the 12 Days of Kindness.

Until December 12, customers can buy two co ees at participating Maxol service stations, one for themselves and one for a stranger, meaning 20c will be donated to Aware. Any co ees not redeemed will be donated to local charities in this ‘pay it forward’ style initiative.

ree quarters (75%) of people say that kindness is contagious and that’s the essence of Maxol’s 12 Days of Kindness initiative according to CEO, Brian Donaldson. “If there is one positive to be taken from the past 20 months it’s the many acts of kindness, big and small, that we have witnessed or experienced during the pandemic. Aware is a vital mental health charity that needs support, particularly as a result of the pandemic and the impact it has had on so many people.”

Aware provides free support, education and information services to people impacted by depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood-related disorders has reported consistently high levels of demand for its services since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SPECIAL REPORT Pandemic sees us being kinder to each other

‘Kindness starts with oneself...

* e Nationwide Study was conducted as part of the iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus Survey among 1,000 adults from November 18 to 21, 2021.

Quality Street reveals our favourite Christmas sweet

THEY asked – and Irish consumers have spoken. Their favourite retro Quality Street sweet is the Coffee Crème.

It may have been out of our tubs and tins for more than 20 years, but the coffee crème has not been forgotten. Not only does it have a Facebook group dedicated to its return, but Nestlé UK & Ireland receives more enquiries about the coffee crème than any other discontinued Quality Street variety. Now its status has been cemented after it topped a poll of most-loved throwback sweets.

Receiving more votes than the bottom three varieties combined, only the Almond Octagon mounted a serious challenge to the coffee-flavoured favourite. The full results were as follows:

Maria McKenna, Confectionery Marketing Manager, Nestlé Ireland, said:

“Many Quality Street fans have an old favourite, and our survey has shown that when it comes to our sweets, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Although the co ee crème hasn’t featured in the mix since the turn of the millennium, it’s clear that it still holds a special place in the heart of both Irish and UK consumers.

“We would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote in our survey. It’s great to see the love for favourites old and new, and we hope our winners will love sampling their tailor-made prizes,” she said.

Five lucky winners will now receive a tin of delicious co ee crèmes, handmade by Nestlé’s expert chocolatiers in York.

Quality Street is made at Nestlé’s factory in Halifax, UK which is currently making up to 50,000 tins every single day to keep shelves well stocked for Christmas. At peak times, the factory uses almost 500 tonnes of liquid chocolate and 350 tonnes of to ee every week to make the twistwrapped favourites.

Retro sweet Co ee Crème

Number of votes cast

8146 Almond Octagon 5312 Fruits of the Forest Crème 2623 Ja a To ee 2409 Vanilla Octagon 2310

Total votes 20,800 THE SURVEY AT A GLANCE.... • 41% say people were kinder during the pandemic than before • Majority (89%) say we all need to be kinder to one another • Give the gift of kindness this

Christmas says clinical psychologist, Dr Eddie

Murphy at launch of 12 Days of Kindness campaign

So, would you like a long weekend every week?

GUEST COLUMNIST

JOHN DONOGHUE

THE war for talent is heating up. It feels like every day begins with a new jobs announcement. Employers are competing for talent like never before and driving unsustainable wage in ation in the economy. Competition creates innovation, and the next battleground for talent may well be working time. Who will be the rst largescale employer to o er a fourday workweek in Ireland? We don’t know, but one thing is for sure, employees will vote with their feet.

China’s tech titans built on the 996 model of employees working from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week, are being reformed in favour of a more reasonable work-life balance. Our ve-day week looks good by comparison, but as the so-called ‘middle class’ has grown in Ireland, the value of personal time has risen. Have we got the balance right?

Every hour of rest before midnight is said to be worth two hours after the clock strikes 12. Maybe every hour away from the keyboard on a Friday afternoon is worth two hours of ‘Saturday time’. If we valued our weekends before Covid-19, we cherish them now that we can do everything that makes life enjoyable again. But still, employers persist with the ve-day workweek.

Measuring performance can be a tricky task. Without the suitable parameters in place, a company can focus on the wrong things and allow perception to become a reality. Joe or Mary can be ‘hard workers’ because of hours spent grinding at 50% capacity with little value to the client paying for their time.

At ifac, we are perhaps a few steps ahead. Ifac is Ireland’s eighth-largest professional services rm by turnover and the largest rm in the country by the number of clients, and not only do we have a ‘live and work’ in your local community approach across more than 30 locations – we have had people working a fourday week for many years. is is often driven by personal needs, everything from supporting a family business to looking after elderly parents or even childcare costs. We have clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and an incentive model that rewards individual and team performance. We measure productivity. What have we found? We’ve found that people are as productive on four extended days as they are on ve eight-hour days. And they are often happier and more in control of their time.

We acted decisively this year and introduced a formal exible working policy. e certainty provided by the policy has been a game-changer. e clarity in our approach is attractive for people who have found a new life during Covid-19 and now need the exibility it created.

Ireland is a laggard on employee leave. With 29 leave days inclusive of public holidays, we are well behind some of our European counterparts. ere are now 17 four-day workweek projects at the trial stage across the country. Ireland is a leader in many ways and an attractive place to do business. e increase in Ireland’s Corporation Tax rate to 15% will make us slightly less attractive for foreign direct investment. But as we know, FDI in the knowledge economy follows talent, and talent goes where the culture is a t, and the rewards are good. Time is our most valuable asset, and it is now part of the consideration set when people look at a rewards package.

Change starts slowly and then happens all at once. Employers are working hard to win the race for talent. Flexibility and remote working have arrived, and the fourday workweek will be here soon. How soon? Within 10 years? It’s a de nite maybe.

*John Donoghue is CEO of ifac, Ireland’s farming, food and agribusiness professional services rm

Eating healthily at Christmas

ANDREW MCDONALD HYPNOTHERAPIST

YULETIDE is a time of indulgence. The one period of the year where everyone, or so it seems, expects and is expected to eat, drink and be merry. That said, for some people this goes against their daily practice. Obviously there are parts of the globe which enjoy festivities at other points of the calendar and even within our own local communities, there are those for whom the 25th December is just another day. The world and its inhabitants and their cultures are interesting because they are varied!

There are also people who, for whatever reason, need to watch what they eat and drink. Perhaps it is especially difficult for them. Whilst the rest of us are stuffing our faces, they must be cautious. Or maybe it doesn’t even bother them at all. That said, joining in the festive fun is something which brightens up the cold, short days of the twelfth month. So the question is, how to do this?

A wise old man once said “a little of what you fancy does you good”. Well, that’s not strictly true. The saying might be sound but the person who first voiced, or rather sang, those words was the risqué Victorian comedienne and music hall performer, Marie Lloyd. Given much of what we associate with the modern Christmas originates from those times, perhaps we should treat this as fitting advice. It does, after all, correspond with the Confucian teaching of “hari hachi bu”, that you should eat until you are 80% full. Or with the Japanese proverb “eight parts of a full stomach sustain the man, the other two sustain the doctor”. In other words, eat, be merry but don’t overdo it.

There’s also good news for those who enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner. Turkey is very healthy meat as it is rich in protein, a wide range of vitamins and also contains a lot of mineral nutrients. Stuffing only need be unhealthy if you use ingredients which aren’t good for you too. Heavy, low GI, breads such as Polish rye or German pumpernickel offer a good base for this side dish whilst also helping your body to stay feeling great. If you’ve time to make your own cranberry sauce, you can also ensure that what you’re putting into your mouth there will bring more benefits than harm as well.

When it comes to immediate health, there are ways to ensure you don’t wake up sick on the 26th too. Obviously being careful how much alcohol you consume is a good way to ensure you don’t get a hangover. Not drinking at all leaves you even more certain of not suffering the post-drink blues. That said, most people enjoy a tipple at Christmas and wise advice there would be that darker drinks contain higher concentrations of congeners which are known to make you more ill the next day. In short, indulging on vodka or gin will result in you feeling better than whiskey or brandy.