The Irish Bishops’ Conference has criticised the inertia of the government in addressing concerns of the religious in Ireland – a watershed moment as up to now, the Bishops have instructed priests across the country to adhere to Government restrictions. The Bishops have collectively, publicly, called on the Government to ease the restrictions on public […]
In the middle of the worst economic crisis in decades, the government has announced that they will be ending the levy on banks that was brought in after the bailout – a move seen by many as essentially letting the banks off the hook after being saved by the taxpayers. Ben Scallan reacts. #gript
Aontú has said that the government’s reliance on “long-term draconian lockdown measures” is an “admission of failure” in efforts to tackle Covid-19. The party leader, Peadar Tóibín, said that the government’s failure to plan, its lack of control regarding international travel, and the slow rollout for vaccines had led to a failure to contain the virus. […]
You could be forgiven for thinking the first two lockdowns have failed. They have not achieved what they were for. We were told they would protect the HSE from excessive demand, and prevent deaths. Now with recent rises in hospitalisations and deaths, a third lockdown to control the virus is attempted. Last year officials in […]
The Rural Independent Group has strongly criticised the government’s inaction at addressing the staffing crisis in health. This follows the release of new information in a parliamentary reply, to the group’s Leader, Deputy Mattie Mc Grath, which confirmed a mere 0.4 per cent of healthcare workers who applied to “Be On Call For Ireland”, have […]
The long-awaited Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was released this week. The report is 2,685 pages long, so many who seemed to have pre-written pieces ready go the day of the report might not have had time to absorb or digest its contents. Much of the commentary around the […]
As reported here last month, the number of applications for “international protection” for asylum seekers to Ireland has fallen due to the Covid restrictions, but not to the extent to which it might have been expected given that overall international travel had fallen more sharply than the numbers of people arriving here to apply for […]
Charlie McConalogue tested positive for Covid-19 this morning after a recent trip to Brussels.
Jobpath is described by government as an approach to “employment activation” which caters mainly for people who are long-term unemployed (12 months or more) to assist them to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. Depending on where you live in the country it is delivered by one of two private companies – Seetec Limited […]
Just as the Government rolled over for the far left on the Euthanasia Bill, it seems that they will do the same on Labour’s Private Members Bill which seeks to overturn the decision of the 2004 referendum on citizenship. Yesterday in the Seanad, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told Senator Ivana Bacik that she supported […]
You can imagine my surprise when I received a flyer from someone connected to mywaste.ie informing me that if I do not sign up to some form of paid waste collection process I will be fined. In theory, this is part of a practice of deterring fly-tipping. The fine will not be for illegal dumping […]
In the face of massive protests, the government of Poland has delayed indefinitely the implementation of a law banning abortions of children with birth defects. The country’s supreme court ruled last month that this was unconstitutional, sparking huge demonstrations every day across the country. The government, led by the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), […]