To put my role and the role of VSO in context, (in short) we are lobbying to convince the Ugandan Government to adopt a formal strategy on volunteering in the country and to put in place a legal framework to protect and promote volunteering. This is something that has already happened in countries like Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique and is currently happening in Tanzania. The importance of such a development is critical for a number of reasons. Many volunteers in Uganda are exploited and essentially used as slave labour. This is something that gives volunteering a bad name and turns off potential volunteers. Additionally, the labour laws in Uganda actually seem to punish volunteering. If a Ugandan national volunteers his or her time in a hospital or school, for a certain number of hours a week, they are considered to be employees and therefore fall within the terms of the Employment Act. This means that they must be paid the minimum wage and avail of all of the usual benefits. This of course defeats the purpose of volunteering. Hospitals and other institutions are forced to give up essential volunteers because they cannot afford to keep them on.

Another important issue is youth unemployment. Currently 470,000 young people are graduating from second or third level education according to the Ugandan Government. Of these only about 70,000 can secure jobs. The rest of these bright young people are destitute, frustrated and without hope. A concerted and strategic approach by the Government could see thousands and thousands of these young people placed with NGOs, public bodies and corporate entities in a formal volunteering capacity for a period of time after graduation. Such a programme could lead to the development of new skills, the acquirement of much needed experience for job seekers and could assist young people in preparing for future employment. This would foster a greater sense of self-confidence in young Ugandans, develop a sense of optimism and hope and would contribute enormously to the local community and the local economy.

Over my twelve day period in Kampala, I will be meeting with NGOs who benefit from volunteering to hear their experience. Many of these are members of NAVE (National Alliance for Volunteering Efforts) an umbrella body set up in 2008 to coordinate the agenda of these organisations. I will meet with donors such as JICA, (the Japan International Cooperation Agency), Irish Aid and the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) in order to impress upon them the need to factor in the volunteering agenda in all of their discussions and meetings with the various Government Ministries. I will also meet with the Minister and officials in the Department of Gender, Labour and Social Affairs as this is considered to be the key Department in the quest to advance the notion of a national strategy for volunteering.

Lucinda appeared on TV3 news with Sam Smyth today. Topics discussed include the fate of small parties such as the Greens and the PDs when they go into coalition with larger parties like Fianna Fáil.

Lucinda has made a submission to An Bord Pleanála with her concerns over the plans for the DART Underground system, and their impact on the residents of Dublin South East:

9 August 2010

Re: Application for a railway order by Coras Iompair Eireann for an underground electrified heavy railway from Inchicore to East Wall, Dublin (Dart Underground)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to make some observations on the proposal to construct an underground Dart line from Inchicore to East Wall. I enclose a cheque for €50.

Overall, I am in favour of increased public transport in the city centre, and especially projects which join the current infrastructure. While I have issues with the cost of this project, I am broadly in favour of it. By investing in the city we can provide for its long term development.

Such a major infrastructure project will however have serious effects on the city and its inhabitants, and all efforts must be made to prevent the works from degrading the quality of life of residents. (more…)

The Government recently introduced legislation to facilitate the dissolution of the board of St. Luke’s hospital and the transfer of staff in the hospital and the hospital’s assets and liabilities to the HSE. Lucinda expressed her concern at this development:

“In contrast to the HSE, St. Luke’s Hospital, otherwise known as “The Haven in Rathgar”, is a beacon, a shining light, in the administrative labyrinth that is the health services here. Since 1954, when it was formally established, St. Luke’s has provided the best quality of care for its patients and the best possible services to cancer patients from all over the country. Every family has been touched in some way by St. Luke’s Hospital. Virtually every family has had some family member or friend attend St. Luke’s at some point. Yet, St. Luke’s is to cease operation in 2014. It is all very well to point to expert reports, expert opinion and the most cutting edge of medical advice, but it is difficult to explain to even the most intelligent human beings why the Government wants to dismantle one of the few public hospitals that functions and does its job with aplomb and replace it with a subsumed and submerged cancer service that will be provided via St. James’s Hospital. The latter does not rank as one of the top hospitals in terms of hygiene, services available or its ethos and environment. (more…)

The Adoption Bill 2009 and inter-country adoption

The Adoption Bill completed its passage through Dail Eireann on Wednesday 29th June and after passing through the Seanad was signed into law by the President in July.

The Bill will not come into force until formal Ministerial Orders are made and administrative arrangements put in place to change the Adoption Board into the Adoption Authority with the appointment of the appropriate persons to that Authority. The likely commencement date for the Bill i.e. the date on which it will come into force, is the 1st October 2010. Until that date the current law continues to apply.

The coming into force of the Bill will give effect to the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption in the State. (more…)