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), […]
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 democracy’s fortitude and constitutional structures can only be judged by their performance through times of strain – times such as when there is no government in place or where a pandemic rages. We are in such a time now, and the rot within the democratic processes and the institutions of this country are plain […]
Thankfully, the Government remembered who elected them and rejected the NPHET call for Level 5 restrictions. It was clear that the leaking of the proposed lockdown last night had elicited a pretty wide ranging rejection. Unlike the announcement of the first lockdown in March when people were naturally in a state of shock and in […]
Covid-19 and Michael Martin: Why are people’s legitimate concerns being ignored and marginalised? Taoiseach Micheál Martin claimed in a recent radio interview that people who downplay the seriousness of coronavirus should be marginalised and have their views undermined. Ben Scallan reacts.
The public’s reaction to Golfgate has been swift and brutal. Indeed, it has now occasioned more public mea culpa’s than you could shake a stick at. Yet still the public and political appetite for scalps, of both the EU and judicial variety has not been sated. No doubt this lamentable saga, with all its […]