Laura Ní Chinnéide

This week we wrote to the Times to reaffirm the calls from child health and child protection professionals to end physical punishment. The evidence is clear.

We continue to urge the government to remove the ‘reasonable punishment’ defence and protect every child from harm.

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Israeli airstrike kills nine of Gaza doctor’s 10 children Dr Alaa al-Najjar was on duty at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis when she received her children’s bodies

Remember, this is the story 👇🏻

Israeli airstrike kills nine of Gaza doctor’s 10 children www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

You accept the far right’s entirely false premise that immigrants increase crime, that the housing crisis is due to migrants rather than your own bad policies, or that foreigners are swamping the health service, rather than holding it up with their bare hands in the face of your own drastic underfunding of the system. And you become less popular. You, the sensible moderate, continue to slide in the polls against the very parties whose policies you were trying to steal. A sizeable number of your own base are appalled, and you have failed to impress a single racist. Because everywhere, from France to Germany to the Netherlands to the UK, as with Fanta and its supermarket imitators, it turns out people prefer the original to the copy.

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Or those lil Bluetooth keyrings that help you find your keys

Here's something that takes seconds and could have actual positive outcomes.

There is an official 'citizen's petition' system in the EU. There's one open at the moment to ban conversion therapy for LGBT+ people in the EU.

Ireland can be 1 of the 7 nations needed

eci.ec.europa.eu/043/public/#...

UK childhood mental health crisis to cost £1.1tn in lost pay, study finds Researchers estimate lifetime earnings lost as charities call for independent review of causes of the crisis

"As paediatricians we are clear that there is no greater investment than our children, and this report rightly highlights the extortionate cost that this mental health crisis is placing on our current and future society." Dr Mike McKean VP of Policy.

Read more: www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

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This is quite something. Op-ed from the Business Post today.

Pretty privilege in action

Christmas dogs 🎄

Nice to have a whole screen to myself to watch Wicked and audibly cry in.

This is really good news. Meanwhile the Irish Government insists on pumping 20 million euro into a cruel industry that could naturally die out.

A small but important comfort in what was otherwise a disappointing election. Erin go bragh!

The rocker/emo culture in Kildare truly remains unmatched.

Irish Times exit poll shows immigration was the most important issue for six per cent of voters, climate most important for four per cent. Two issues within the margin of error of each other, but one received a disproportionate amount of coverage while the other was barely mentioned. #ge24