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Gaza children chosen for treatment in Ireland not expected to fly here until September
Gaza children chosen for treatment in Ireland not expected to fly here until September

Irish Times

time09-07-2025

  • Health
  • Irish Times

Gaza children chosen for treatment in Ireland not expected to fly here until September

At least eight seriously ill children were selected for medical evacuation from Gaza to Ireland in June, but paediatric patients are not expected to be flown out of the Middle East until September. A number of Irish doctors have confirmed they have agreed to treat specific patients from Ireland's most recent evacuation list. They remain concerned about delays in flying critically sick and injured children out of Gaza via Egypt. The Irish Times reported last week that doctors were told the medical evacuation of up to 18 children had stalled amid a concern over visas for the children's siblings. Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill now intends to bring a memo to Cabinet to recognise that Ireland must also evacuate patients' siblings for humanitarian reasons. READ MORE It was announced in September 2024 that Ireland would evacuate up to 30 sick children from Gaza, but the Government at the time had only agreed to bring each patient accompanied by one guardian. Ms Carroll MacNeill said: 'While the initial agreement allowed for one patient and one accompanying carer, we have in fact been facilitating the arrival of up to three immediate family members per child.' She said she believes this approach 'better reflects the urgent and compassionate nature of the situation'. She intends to formalise this and will seek the Government's approval for this 'more humanitarian approach', she said. 'I fully expect to be back at Dublin Airport in the autumn to welcome the next group of children and their families.' Two successful missions in December and May flew 12 paediatric patients to Ireland via Egypt. The children were accompanied by a mother or carer, while 21 other family members were also present. For humanitarian reasons, Ireland was not able to leave siblings of patients alone in Gaza without a surviving parent. This had prompted concerns in the Department of Health and Department of Justice that the Government had gone beyond what ministers originally agreed to. Officials from both Departments will meet to discuss the matter. Last weekend, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald wrote to Tánaiste Simon Harris to raise concerns that medical evacuations from Gaza have stalled. In response, Ms Carroll MacNeill wrote to Ms McDonald on Monday to confirm that Government departments and agencies were 'fully engaged to honour Ireland's commitment to receive up to 30 paediatric patients and their carers'. She said she looked forward to welcoming a third group of paediatric patients from Gaza and their carers and accompanying family members in the autumn when they have been clinically identified by the World Health Organisation and the HSE. But The Irish Times understands the HSE was informed that CHI had approved eight sick children for evacuation to Ireland last month. A number of doctors in Temple Street and Crumlin Children's Hospital have also confirmed they already agreed they have capacity to take specific children from a list of patients who were identified for treatment in Ireland. A number of children previously identified for clinical treatment in Ireland have since died. These children were separate from the more recent group of eight. Dr Morgan McMonagle, an Irish consultant vascular and trauma surgeon who has worked on medical humanitarian missions in Gaza, said he is concerned that if the Government waits until September 'there is a very, very good chance that Gaza won't exist, at the rate things are going'. 'Even for people who aren't injured, the chances of them being dead by September are very, very high as well.'

Irish doctors behind Gaza fund-raising effort call on Australian government to speak out against attacks
Irish doctors behind Gaza fund-raising effort call on Australian government to speak out against attacks

Irish Times

time01-06-2025

  • General
  • Irish Times

Irish doctors behind Gaza fund-raising effort call on Australian government to speak out against attacks

A group of Irish doctors working in Perth are behind a fund-raising and awareness initiative that has raised over $170,000AUD (€96,000) for humanitarian aid in Gaza and received the support of nearly 1,000 medics across Australia . The campaign started in March, 2024, with five doctors sitting around Dr Mairéad Heaney's kitchen table. Dr Heaney is a paediatric consultant from Galway who has been based in Australia for 21 years. She and her fellow doctors had been left wondering what, if anything, they could do to help the people of Gaza. Their campaign reached a landmark last week with full-page adverts – paid for by hundreds of doctors – running in both the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age. The adverts called on the Australian government to take action in opposition to the ongoing crisis in Gaza and the West Bank. 'When we first met, we talked about how devastated and helpless we felt about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and what we could possibly do to help,' said Dr Heaney. 'None of us felt safe speaking out at work as Australia is much more like America in terms of influential lobby groups, censorship and lack of mainstream media coverage.' READ MORE The small group had 'no idea where to start, no idea how to fund-raise'. Over the course of more than a year, they arranged for the screening of multiple films highlighting the plight of Palestinians. They also ran a GoFundMe campaign, which raised tens of thousands of Australian dollars. That money has been donated to charities working on the ground in Gaza. 'We then decided we needed to speak out publicly as doctors,' said Dr Heaney. They wrote an advert for publication in the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald under the headline 'We cannot stay silent'. It called on the Australian government to take a stronger stand against the ongoing Israeli military action in Gaza which has resulted in the deaths of more than 53,000 people, including more than 15,000 children. The advert also called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in the wake of terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7th, 2023. 'We have been very careful to be apolitical,' said Dr Heaney. 'We focused on humanitarian issues [and] thought we would be lucky to get 100 signatures.' [ Gaza doctor whose nine children were killed in Israeli strike dies from wounds from same attack Opens in new window ] [ Israeli attack in Gaza saw tank open fire at thousands of people en route to get aid, medics say Opens in new window ] She said the small group was 'going to chip in to raise the $9000 ad cost'. However, she added: 'Over five days, we reached 900 doctors all over Australia who were willing to speak out and not be silent. This included so many influential Australian doctors. Former Australians of the Year, professors, college presidents and multiple Order Of Australia medal recipients, as well as so many normal doctors like us.' She said many young Irish doctors who have come to Perth for a year or two 'have felt very isolated in their advocacy for Palestine '. These young doctors have joined the Perth Doctors Medical Aid for Palestine group. The group plans to deliver a statement to the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese this week and they are continuing to raise funds on the GoFundMe platform -

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