All of us will be familiar with what a PPS number is. It is a bit like a barcode that you don’t have stamped on your forehead. Any person born in the state will have one, as will anyone who comes here because it is a requirement in having any dealings with the state. You […]
As I write, the news media is reporting that at least 4 people have died and 17 more have been injured as a result of what has been declared to be a terror attack by Islamist terrorists in Vienna last night. This comes after the recent murders of a teacher in Paris and 3 people attending […]
One of the issues that have been exercising people during the Covid-19 panic has been what impact the lockdowns have had on access to essential healthcare for other life-threatening conditions. In particular there is increasing concern about the possible impact that lack of hospital referrals may be having on the long term prospects and mortality […]
A recent report conducted by the Social Policy Department at UCD for the Dublin Regional Housing Executive contains some interesting insights into the response to homelessness in the city. Among the groups who took part were Merchants Quay, Crosscare, Focus, and the Capuchin Day Centre. Seemingly, no homeless persons nor any of the smaller voluntary […]
The latest episode in ‘How the ‘Gah’ infected the country with the Plague’ came with the news that Waterford County Board is proposing to strip Dungarvan GAA club of its intermediate football title. Unlike other episodes, such as the one in which the Blackrock hurling club in Cork and it’s crazy supporters supposedly embarked on […]
Last week Aontú leader Peadar Toíbín launched a Bill, co-signed by Galway East Independent TD Seán Canney, to introduce a minimum 10 month sentence for any person convicted of stealing a family pet. Unfortunately this appears to have been a bit of a growth industry over the last months, partly due to gangs whose normal forte is […]
On Tuesday last, the Dáil allotted time to statements on the European Council of Ministers meeting that had ended on October 16. At a time when the Brexit negotiations and the Covid panic were exercising most minds, those topics took up the bulk of member’s contributions. Not so, Mick Barry the reticent communist TD for […]
The last debate of the 2020 American Presidential election took place in Nashville last night and it is difficult to see that it might have been a game changer. It was moderated by Kristen Welker who was reasonably moderate for the want of a better word, and the format allowing uninterrupted sequences of responses worked […]
I’ve seen some strange things during elections but this American Presidential contest surely trumps all, pardon the terrible pun. At 1am Irish time, a joint news conference was held by the Director of National intelligence, John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Chris Wray. A few hours later as people here slumbered and Americans on the east coast prepared […]
On Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin reported back to the Dáil from the weekend’s EU Council meeting in Brussels. The main issue of concern was the implications of the lack of an agreement between the Commission and London prior to Britain leaving the EU at the end of December. Martin echoed the Brussels line that the […]
It seems Dr. Ebun Joseph is not finished with us yet. On November 9, she will be one of the speakers at an event hosted by Carlow IT and funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which itself gets a chunk of the education budget. The theme […]
Senator Ronan Mullen’s motion calling on the Irish state to condemn Chinese treatment of the Uyghur Muslim people and to use its position on the United Nations Security Council to that end was passed without opposition on October 8th. Credit is due to the Senator for his initiative, and Aontú for protesting against the effective […]