In a landmark decision, the High Court ruled against the HSE Standard Operating Procedure for Assessments of Needs (AON), stating that a comprehensive assessment, including a diagnosis, is essential for determining a child’s needs.
Dianne Willmore, who passed from mesothelioma in 2009, won a landmark £240,000 case, holding Knowsley Borough Council liable for her asbestos exposure during school. Her case prompted legal and financial ramifications for local authorities nationwide, leading to increased awareness and changes in asbestos-related negligence proceedings.
Shane Flynn, 35, owner of a Mullingar clinic, was convicted of sexual assault after inappropriately touching a client seeking back pain relief. The investigation also revealed 18 hours of footage showing Flynn secretly filming 35 women during massages, raising further concerns about his conduct and abuse of trust within his practice.
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Concerns relating to the provision of maternity services at Portiuncula Hospital have led to external reviews being conducted into the delivery of nine babies there since 2023. On the 27th of January 2025, the HSE issued a statement announcing that the external management team, led by Dr Mark Skehan, would manage maternity services at the hospital in the following months. Dr. Skehan is a consultant obstetrician at University Hospital Limerick.
Seven babies delivered at the hospital since 2024 suffered hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). Six of those babies required neonatal cooling. Two stillbirths that occurred in the hospital in 2023 are also being investigated. Regional Clinical Director of HSE West and Northwest, Dr. Pat Nash stated:
“We are making these changes now to ensure the maternity service at Portiuncula Hospital is as safe as possible for mothers and their babies. This incidence of HIE, resulting in referral for neonatal cooling treatment, is significantly higher than that observed nationally or internationally for a similar time frame”
A report previously carried out in relation to maternity services at the hospital, published in 2018, noted serious issues, including lack of training, inadequate inter-staff communication and staffing issues. That report had been commissioned in 2015 following the death of three babies at PUH.
Dianne Willmore, who passed from mesothelioma in 2009, won a landmark £240,000 case, holding Knowsley Borough Council liable for her asbestos exposure during school. Her case prompted legal and financial ramifications for local authorities nationwide, leading to increased awareness and changes in asbestos-related negligence proceedings.
Shane Flynn, 35, owner of a Mullingar clinic, was convicted of sexual assault after inappropriately touching a client seeking back pain relief. The investigation also revealed 18 hours of footage showing Flynn secretly filming 35 women during massages, raising further concerns about his conduct and abuse of trust within his practice.
Naveed Rana, a Dublin taxi driver, was sentenced to five and a half years for the assault of an 18-year-old woman after a night out. The court heard how Rana took advantage of the victim’s trust, driving erratically and assaulting her before being apprehended due to her quick actions in reporting the incident to Gardaí.
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