Latest news with #Laverty
The Age
30-06-2025
- General
- The Age
NDIS Children: The areas where one in 10 tweens are on the NDIS
But participation data reveals another dynamic that will make moving children off the scheme more complicated: the highest rates of children on the NDIS continue to be in regional and outer-metropolitan areas, where schools tend to have poorer resourcing and families have fewer other options to get help. Loading The trend underscores the equity issues at stake as the federal and state governments seek to move children off the scheme and onto an as-yet undesigned 'foundational supports' system in the long term, with the NDIS serving as a lifeline in areas without other services. NDIS participation rates in lower socio-economic regional areas are as much as double those in wealthy city areas. In NSW, North Sydney has one of the lowest participation rates for children, with 3.5 per cent of both nine to 14-year-olds and under-eights, whereas on the NSW Mid North Coast, those rates are 10.1 per cent for older children and 9.7 per cent for younger children. In Melbourne's inner east, 4.6 per cent of under-eights and 4.8 per cent of older children are on the scheme. This is a far lower participation rate than at Loddon, near Bendigo, where 8.7 per cent of young children and 10.5 per cent of older children are participants. The highest participation rates in March 2025 were in northern Adelaide and South Australia's Barossa Valley, where more than 11 per cent of 9 to 14-year-old children are NDIS participants, as are more than 8 per cent of children under nine years old. But even in inner-city areas, where families have more access to services, children's participation rates increased in the two years to March 2025. The exception is in the Northern Territory – a sign of continued challenges in accessing the NDIS in more remote areas. Laverty, who is now chief executive of disability service Aruma, said the higher uptake among regional families was no surprise as they can struggle to get help for learning delays at school, or access services such as speech therapy in the private system. Once eligible, children can linger on waitlists for months. 'Aruma has waiting lists of families seeking support that miss out because of allied health shortages in country Australia,' Laverty said, noting this was exacerbated by the lack of state and territory services outside the NDIS. Laverty said wait times meant the window for early intervention could often close before a child got the help they needed. 'That delay is resulting in children missing out on the intervention that may prevent them ever needing an NDIS package in the long term,' he said. While the 2023 independent NDIS review recommended children younger than nine enter the scheme under early intervention pathways, to reduce the need for supports over their lifetime, a NDIA spokesperson said most children entered the scheme under developmental delay provisions. 'Over half of the children with developmental delay continue in the scheme after being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder,' they said. In December, the federal government announced $4.5 million over two years for the NDIA to design and consult on an early intervention pathway to better support children younger than nine with developmental delay or disability. with Millie Muroi Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.
Irish Daily Mirror
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Controversy with Shane Walsh goal as Galway defeat Down at Pairc Esler
Shane Walsh's goal for Galway in their meeting with Down has caused some controversy in their All-Ireland Championship meeting. Two points separated the sides in their preliminary quarter-final meeting at Pairc Esler, but Down manager Conor Laverty and fans online were not happy as during the goal Down player Patrick McCarthy was down with a blood injury. 'I was just asking for clarification on why the play wasn't stopped,' Laverty said speaking to the BBC after the game. 'It was a serious injury, the lad had to come off as a blood sub, it was just a loose arm but, the blood was pouring out of the fella. "You watch the games last night and see the amount of times the games were stopped because of the head injuries. I think the game should have been stopped to see if he was ok, Galway still had the ball then we just played on. "I think Paddy McCarthy's man was involved for the goal in the move.' Asked if the referee explained why the play wasn't stopped, Laverty said: 'No he didn't, there was no explanation.' Galway boss Pádraic Joyce admitted that his side may have gotten away with one when he was asked about the incident regarding McCarthy. 'Well he came off with a blood injury, I think he may have got a trailing arm,' Joyce said. "I do (think it should have been stopped). If it was me, I'd be aggrieved as well, we got a break for a change, so, we'll take it.' Fans online were also not impressed with the call, with that goal being the difference between the two sides at the final whistle. One fan commented on X: 'When is the consistency of the rules going to be sorted. E.g Kerrys match, a close fist tackle on Cliffords body got a yellow card. Galway had a closed fist tackle to a down mans head just a free. Then a head injury and the ref plays on, galway scores a goal. So much for safety.' Another said: 'Hard to believe all that separated Down and Galway was a goal that shouldn't have stood in the first... Unlucky down. There's a team there! Should win that Div 3 next year!' Down's season comes to an end while Galway will be hoping to go one step further than last year when they were defeated by Armagh in the All-Ireland final.
Irish Examiner
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Laverty bemoans Walsh goal amid McCarthy injury
Conor Laverty bemoaned Derek O'Mahoney's decision to allow Shane Walsh's goal as his player Patrick McCarthy went down with a head injury. The first-half score was allowed to stand even though Down's McCarthy had to go off with a bloody nose in the lead-up to it. As per rule, play should have stopped for McCarthy to receive treatment. Laverty and a member of his management team made their feelings known to O'Mahoney about the incident at half-time. 'Probably would have been a wee bit disappointed that the play wasn't stopped, for their goal, and particularly whenever our player had to come off with a facial blood injury,' Laverty said. 'It was just a loose arm, nothing in it, accidental, but whenever there's a player with a serious injury… even when you've seen games last night, the amount of times the games stopped just for head injuries and things, I don't think the referees need to be playing on. 'There was no problem at all, Galway had the ball and they were going to retain the ball. Actually, the player down there [McCarthy], his player was involved in the move and that led to the goal. I'm not the kind of person to cry because I think there's a decision in games they to and fro, you get the rub of the green.' Laverty cut a disappointed figure as he fully believed Down would qualify for the last eight despite Galway being heavily fancied. 'I wasn't coming here hoping that Down were going to play well. I came here with a massive belief that these players could perform at this level and that this is the standard that we want to be play at. 'But what we did talk to the players about was do you want to be coming here today to Páirc Esler playing in front of what was there, I'm not sure what 14,000 people? What would you rather be playing? 'I came to a league match here against Clare one year and there wasn't 150 people at it. Out playing against teams in a Tailteann Cup, there were only a couple of hundred people at them, and that's not against the Tailteann Cup because it was a stepping stone. And in circumstances next year, you could end up being back in it.' Finishing his third year in charge, Laverty is looking at Down as a project. 'Listen, there's nights you go home and you know you'd be thinking, 'Jesus,' after some of the league defeats this year and then getting relegated and that, and that really hurt, you know. 'I would have a vision of where I want Down to go and where I expect on the climb to dine at the top table, and that's where I want. We don't talk about winning Sam Maguires, we talk about we want to get to the top bracket of teams and I think in the top six teams in Ireland, anybody, particularly this minute in time without the great Dublin team being there, the top six teams, probably even maybe top eight at the moment, could all feel that they could win Maguire.'
Belfast Telegraph
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Down riding crest of a wave in push for All-Ireland Quarter-Final slot, insists Ceilum Doherty
And no one is more aware than manager Conor Laverty that Doherty's ability to keep opponents at bay will certainly be needed when the team line out against Monaghan in an All-Ireland Championship Group Three encounter on Sunday at the Athletic Grounds, Armagh (2.00pm). In their most recent outing, Down triumphed over recently crowned Leinster champions Louth, and since then, Laverty's men have been viewed in a new light. Laverty, it goes without saying, is conscious that Monaghan will carry a huge threat on Sunday, even though they suffered relegation to Division Two in the recent Allianz Football League. While this was a setback for team boss Michael Bannigan, he believes that his side can respond to Sunday's challenge against the Mournemen. 'We know that Down will be a big test for us. That win over Louth was a huge boost for them and they will be keen to rise to the occasion on Sunday,' insists Bannigan. His optimism, though, is countered by that of Doherty, who helped Down win the Tailteann Cup in 2024 and has captured a shoal of honours in the colours of Kilcoo. Doherty is convinced that Down have gained in confidence and energy of late, and he is particularly keen to see the side get into their stride quickly against Monaghan. 'There is a buzz in the county since that win over Louth, and now the challenge for us as players is to build on it,' points out Doherty. 'We would very much like to land a place in the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals because we feel we have some new players in the side now who are producing the goods.' In this connection, goalkeeper Ronan Burns along with Adam Crimmins and John McGeough have stepped up smartly to the mark to show just how capable they are of making an impact at this level. 'It's good to see players like this coming through and they will be up for the challenge. This is a huge game for us, that's for sure,' adds Doherty.
Irish Daily Mirror
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'East Coast Football' rising ahead of first ever Louth, Down Championship tie
'East Coast Football' was one of the more bizarre quotes of recent times. It really meant Dublin when Jim Gavin coined it first, but with the rise of Louth - and Meath on a roll - it seems more apt than ever now. Could Down be the next 'East Coast' county to make their mark as they face Louth at Pairc Esler on Saturday evening in a crucial Round 2 All-Ireland encounter? Astonishingly, it will be the first ever meeting of the sides who share a border along the M1 motorway. Carlingford Lough splits the counties. The popular tourist village is the Dundalk/Newry Riviera, a weekend and summer playground for locals on both sides of the border. Down are the historical power here, and carried the Sam Maguire through Louth five times on their way home from Croke Park, but the playing field has leveled off. In this year's Division 2 campaign, they both finished on six points with Louth surviving thanks to a final round win over Meath. In the group stages, Louth edged Down out by 2-17 to 0-22 at Ardee. But, in the meantime, Ger Brennan's reds landed a first Leinster senior title since 1957, while the Wee County are riding the crest of a wave at underage level. Their senior breakthrough may have played a factor in Louth's paltry tally of eight points - they also shot four goals - against Monaghan's 1-23 in last weekend's All-Ireland opener, while a week earlier Down thumped Clare by 3-27 to 1-16. It appears to be Louth's time, but they have just seven days to get the show back on the road again, presenting a major opportunity to Down - one they've had to be patient for. Down, the aristocrats of Ulster football, the first side from the six counties to take the Sam Maguire across the border (1960), the mighty Mourne men, the red and black devils have been in the wilderness for over three decades now. They've had to look on as Tyrone (4), Armagh (2) and Donegal (1) have claimed All-Ireland titles since their last triumph, back in 1994. Very much the unloved child of Ulster football in recent years, all the talk has been of Tyrone, Donegal, Derry and Armagh. And, the side they could meet in the final round of this year's All-Ireland round robin, with a coveted last eight place on the line, Monaghan, are starting to make waves too. Conor Laverty's first Championship game in charge of Down was in April 2023, a 2-13 to 1-11 victory over Donegal. Almost 10,000 fans turned up in Newry, but it was a Donegal side in chaos after the resignation of manager Paddy Carr during the National League. It seemed though that the Laverty factor might lead to instant success, or at least fasttrack it. As a player Laverty had won 10 Down Championships, two Ulster clubs and one All-Ireland (as joint-captain). Of far more relevance though were/are, his Ulster Under-20 title wins as Down manager in 2021 and 2023. In fact, he's the only manager to prevent Tyrone winning the Ulster under-20 title since Mickey Donnelly (Derry) in 2018, with Tyrone native Donnelly now part of Laverty's Down set-up. Armagh delivered a dose of reality on Down's next big day out after the Donegal win, hitting them for four goals in a 10 point Ulster semi-final win. Down had come off a Division 3 campaign. Next year, three seasons on from that, they'll play Division 3 football again, after being relegated a few weeks ago. Progress hasn't been linear. It's been steady rather than monumental, but that's not all that surprising given the low base Down are coming from. No Ulster title since 1994 is only the half of it. But, they've stayed patient and stayed working. Along the way, Laverty added Ciaran Meenagh to his coaching ticket, after he left Derry following the departure of Rory Gallagher - and the county's last gasp 2023 All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Kerry. Landing Meenagh, with his attention to detail and experience from his time with Derry, was a real sign of intent. That promise has yet to be fulfilled with a huge turnover of players Laverty has gone with youth and rebuilt his side. Just six players who started the Donegal 2023 game started against Clare 12 days ago: Pierce Laverty, Danny Magill, Daniel Guinness, Ceilum Doherty, Ryan McEvoy and Pat Havern. There are signs that they're getting there. It went largely unnoticed last year that Down pushed Armagh to one point in the Ulster semi-final. But for big displays from Aidan Forker and Rian O'Neill, McGeeney's All-Ireland champions in waiting would have been beaten. That defeat represented an eight point improvement on the year before against Armagh, although in 2024 they scored just 2-6 and played 15 men behind the ball for most of the game. This year Down were fortunate to defeat Fermanagh in the Ulster quarter-final, showing great resilience to hit two late goals in a 2-19 to 0-23 victory. Ulster Championship games are for winning. In the semi-final they fell to a six point defeat by Donegal, 1-19 to 0-16. They had a safety net though. Down are a great advertisement for the Tailteann Cup. They wouldn't be in the All-Ireland this year, or in with a serious chance of topping their group and going straight through to claim one of the four automatic All-Ireland quarter-final places on offer, if they hadn't won it last season. While some counties have struggled with buy-in, it reflects well on Laverty and co that they got enough player commitment to win the second tier championship. It was the first final they'd won after 12 decider defeats on the bounce, going all the way back to the 1994 All-Ireland Final, including the 2010 All-Ireland decider. Laverty and Down needed that victory badly as they'd lost the Division 3 Final at Croke Park a few months earlier and the Tailteann Cup decider the year before against Meath. It was a serious monkey off the back for Down football, as this group eyes up a first All-Ireland quarter-final since 2010 against a Louth side who made thier first ever quarter-final last year. 'East Coast Football' abu.
