Who will care for the carers?
Fri, Jun 03, 2011
Anyone who watched with horror the final RTÉ Prime Time Investigates programme of the season on Monday night could be nothing other than shocked and heartbroken at the tragic stories depicted in the show.
Read more ...A momentous week in Irish history
Fri, May 20, 2011
It’s funny how Queen Elizabeth II’s visit could unearth such emotion among a generation of Irish who are too young really to remember the persistently bad times in Northern Ireland, and who were very much indifferent to her visit in the first place. There have been occasions like the Omagh bombing where we shared the sharp pain of our friends in Northern Ireland, but we have been removed by age from the troubles of the seventies.
Read more ...High Court Master puts suicide back in the spotlight
Fri, May 13, 2011
Suicide is a serious and devastating issue and it is not a word which should be bandied about recklessly and without proper thought.
Read more ...Kenny now walking the walk
Fri, May 06, 2011
Enda Kenny can certainly talk the talk — he did so in abundance during the General Election campaign. But now he is proving he can also walk the walk.
Read more ...A hearty welcome to the May madness
Fri, Apr 29, 2011
It has been a glorious two weeks for the lucky schoolchildren who are enjoying their Easter holidays.
Read more ...Laughing all the way from the bank
Fri, Apr 22, 2011
The old expression “laughing all the way to the bank” seems to be in fact the reverse in this country, as unbelievably those walking away from the banks are laughing—another ‘fat cat’ has walked away from a financial mess with an astonishing €3 million golden handshake. This is yet another farcical situation, which has sparked public outrage, particularly as the State are pumping billions into bailing out the banks; thousands of jobs in AIB are under threat and a credit rating of ‘junk status’ has been given to our financial institutions.
Read more ...Teachers are not to blame for public sector inefficiencies
Fri, Apr 15, 2011
The value placed on teachers in Ireland seems to be downgrading all the time.
Read more ...Celebrations and commiserations in one short week
Fri, Apr 08, 2011
Our beautiful county of Mayo was in the headlines this week for all the right reasons and all the wrong reasons. It was a week of great jubilation, but the county was also shrouded in scandal and controversy.
Read more ...What was the point of the Moriarty Tribunal anyway?
Fri, Apr 01, 2011
A motion calling on Independent TD Michael Lowry to voluntarily resign his membership of Dáil Éireann has been passed without a vote. However, the obstinate North Tipperary TD has said he will continue to serve his constituents. He remains adamant that he is not a criminal, despite the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal.
Read more ...When a child dies from illness, it is tragic; when a child dies from war, it is murder
Fri, Apr 01, 2011
Dear Editor,
The numbers of children experiencing consistent poverty increased last year for the first time since 2006, according to the 26-county State of the Nation's Children report. The report, which is published every two years by the Department of Health, is a compilation of various sources of information on children's lives. It shows progress in several areas including a decline in child deaths and teen births, and an increase in immunisation. However it shows an increase in abuse, poverty, and numbers waiting for social housing. The research has also found that Traveller children, immigrant children and children with a disability or chronic illness fare less well than the general population of children across a range of markers.
Pots and kettles in Leinster House
Fri, Mar 25, 2011
It was a case of the pot calling the kettle black in the Dáil this week as the Moriarty Report was finally published and gave a damming account of how Esat Digifone was awarded the country’s second mobile phone licence with the help of former Fine Gael TD Michael Lowry.
Read more ...