Health or teaching course applicants must get Garda clearance

Applicants to some CAO courses are surprised to discover that they may be vetted by the Gardai before taking a place on the course.

Garda vetting is a necessary reality for some courses now, although applicants to the majority of CAO's courses are not affected by the procedure. Anyone who is offered a place on a course especially in the areas of medicine, health care, nursing, social work or teaching will require clearance from the Garda Vetting Unit when they register.

Garda clearance is sought only when a person is accepting a place on a course. Students on all of these courses will undertake placements that will bring them into contact in positions of trust with children and vulnerable adults. The Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) are committed to ensuring that only suitable adults are allowed to undertake these programmes.

A list of over 200 course codes can be found on CAO's website, by clicking "Garda Vetting" in the left hand menu. About 80 of these codes relate to nursing. The list of nursing codes is doubled for each branch of nursing or midwifery in any college, because there is one code for standard applicants and one for mature applicants.

Q Is Garda clearance necessary for all individuals being offered places on the relevant courses or does the issue affect only mature applicants?

A Clearance is sought for all those being made an offer, whether they are standard school leavers, or mature or other non-standard individuals.

What normally happens is this: when a HEI is making an offer on a relevant course to an applicant, it will send that applicant a form to complete, where they must give their name, date of birth and all addresses they have lived in since their birth.

They will also be asked to disclose on that form any convictions they may have. Failure to disclose a conviction could do them more harm than the conviction itself might have done, depending on the conviction.

Each HEI submits all the forms to the Garda Vetting Unit for clearance, and the Garda Vetting Unit returns the forms to the college when it has processed them.

CAO's website states that in some cases the HEIs may require applicants to provide more information by way of an affidavit, so an offer of a place on a course would be conditional and might be withdrawn if applicants did not meet the Garda vetting requirements.

Q Supposing an applicant, whether school leaver or other, had come to the attention of the Gardai for something like a minor driving offence, would that be enough for the college to withdraw their offer?

A Any disclosure of a conviction will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and in complete confidentiality by the relevant HEI.

The purpose of the Garda clearance is to satisfy the requirements of the placement provider, that is, where the student would be doing their placement during their course. Some placement providers operate a policy of zero tolerance.

Most of the time, it would depend on the nature of the offence. Anyone can understand that a minor motoring offence might not rank in the same way as an assault or abuse offence of any kind.

Q If an offeree (that is, a person being offered a place on a course) did not meet the placement provider's requirements, and the offer was withdrawn, would that applicant be offered a place on their next highest CAO preference course, if it did not require Garda clearance?

A Withdrawal of an offer is so rare that there is no well-established practice. It might depend on the timing of the withdrawal of the offer, or whether the applicant had applied only to other courses requiring Garda clearance.

Irish Independent

Ten easy ways to alleviate stress - by Ann Bracken

Lowering our stress levels helps us feel healthy and have a positive outlook on life.

• 
  Organize your time and write a list. By keeping a wall planner or diary, you can prevent double booking appointments.


• Do unimportant routine tasks when you have less energy and the most demanding jobs when you are more energetic. Do not over plan and allow yourself time to complete tasks.


• 
  Dedicate some daily time to ‘being’ instead of ‘doing’. Many of us feel guilty for taking necessary time out.


• Surround yourself with Mother Nature. Taking a 30 minute walk at lunchtime clears the mind and all exercise releases natural endorphins, which lifts the mood. Other tension taming exercises include yoga, swimming and pilates.


• 
  Visualisation is a very effective self-help technique for stress. Find a quiet space where you know you will not be disturbed. When sitting comfortably or lying down, close your eyes. Breathe slowly and visualize a calm, beautiful scene. Use your senses to make it real. Imagine the sounds you would hear and the smells you would experience in such a place. Repeat to yourself “I am relaxed and happy”.


• 
  Aromatherapy can be used to relax the mind. Burn a few drops of a relaxing essential oil, or add four drops to your bath. Bergamot, Camomile, Clary Sage, Jasmine or Lavender are all calming oils. Juniper, or the citrus oils, such as orange and lemon uplift the spirits and get your day off to a good start.


• 
  Use colour therapy daily. Wear blue or black to feel relaxed, green to promote harmony, red to feel energised, orange for happiness and yellow for concentration. Not altogether of course!


• 
  When you experience muscle tension or headache, ask a friend or work colleague to massage you head, neck and shoulders. Ideally, allow yourself to benefit from a relaxation therapy weekly. Reflexology, massage, shiatsu and reiki all relax the body and balance energy flow.


• 
  Drink plenty of water. Still water, stills the mind. It is recommended to drink a litre of water per day. Tap water can contain high levels of copper, iron, chlorine and fluoride (which contrary to widespread belief is harmful in excess) and other pollutants. It is advisable to drink bottled or filtered water.


• 
  Adding foods with a high source of Iron is an excellent way to avoid physical exhaustion. Lentils and Soya beans contain a high source of Iron. Wholesome grains are very grounding such as brown rice, oats and millet. Cut down on your intake of coffee, white sugar and processed or refined foods. Apart from having no nutritional value, stimulants create mood swings.


• 
  If you find you are a ‘yes’ person, try saying ‘no’ sometimes. It is impossible to be all things to all people and actually not agreeing to every request of your time and energy allows you time to relax and focus on your own needs. When you are rested, your outlook will be positive and once again you can reach out with the hand of friendship.


• 
  Laughter helps to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol - so as John Cleese so famously sang, “always look on the bright side of life”.

Courtesy of Irish Institute of Nutrition & Health

Tai chi exercises help to fight diabetes

Tai-Chi describes a way of life and a system of healing and exercise which combines physical training (martial art) with spiritual growth and mental discipline. Its history can be traced back to India and the development of Buddhism circa 500BC.

Tai Chi has been practiced in all corners of the world. The most popular style of Tai Chi taught today in the Western world is Yang style, after the family name. Cheng Man Ch'ing (1900-1975) is largely credited as being the greatest master of Yang style in the modern world. Cheng developed the short Tang form, which is a concise, and shortened form. It contains the most basic principles and movements that are of great benefit to health and well-being.

According to an article in today's Irish Independent

TAI CHI exercises could help diabetics control their blood sugar levels, researchers said today.

A 12-week programme was shown to boost the the body's immune system in people suffering Type 2, which is linked to obesity.

Two studies, published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at the impact of tai chi on diabetes.

Tai chi involves moderate exercise using flowing movements and deep breathing using the diaphragm.

The first study, from researchers in Taiwan, compared 30 diabetics with 30 healthy people acting as controls.

Over the 12-week period, those in the tai chi group learned 37 movements under the guidance of an expert, and took home a video to study the correct poses.

Each session was 60 minutes which included a 10-minute warm-up and a 10-minute cool down. Sessions were given three times a week.

The study revealed that, after 12 weeks, levels of interleukin-12, which boosts the immune response, doubled.

Meanwhile, levels of interleukin-4, which suppresses the immune response, fell.

The study also revealed a significant drop in HBA1C levels in patients after the exercise programme. HBA1C is a measure of blood glucose.

The authors suggested that tai chi may cause a fall in blood glucose levels or improve blood glucose metabolism which sparks a drop in the inflammatory response.

Or, exercise may boost fitness levels and the feeling of wellbeing, which may then boost the health of the immune system, they said.

Cathy Moulton, care adviser at Diabetes UK, said: “This interesting new research further confirms that moderate exercise is vital in effectively managing Type 2 diabetes.

- Jane Kirby

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