Miracles and instant cures from disability on offer from Irish Government. Main-streaming will eradicate severe and profound disabilities. Employers will suddenly offer jobs to everyone even if they can’t work. Cutting disability allowance for young people brings them into line with their non disabled peers. These deductions can be made by the defence strategy by [...]
Two women raise a baby
December 2nd, 2011 · 9 Comments · LGBT, Marriage Equality, Same Sex Partnerships
Two women raise a young man who can speak well in public in Iowa last February, it goes viral again for some reason this week and lesbians and gay men and their friends go nuts about it. It’s been all over my facebook and twitter with pre requisite gushing. It’s not the video itself that [...]
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You know #Budget12 is going to be bad when
December 1st, 2011 · 2 Comments · Equality, Irish Politics, Recession
Labour backbenchers (when not appearing on all TV/Radio programmes whilst their FG counterparts hide in the bushes) are issuing pre budget leaflets like this. This is from Ciaran Lynch TD. If you see any other leaflets over the weekend let me know. Nothing about equality there… all about hard choices and long term approaches. In [...]
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Towards a Second Republic – Giveaway/Review
November 28th, 2011 · 17 Comments · Equality, Irish Politics, Social Policy
Towards a Second Republic: Irish Politics after the Celtic Tiger, by Peadar Kirby and Mary P. Murphy was published earlier this month and is surely to become a key text for students of Irish Politics and the broader social sciences. The book initially examines the impact of the Celtic Tiger both it’s development and operation [...]
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‘Sad News’ A Labour Party response to closures and silencing
November 27th, 2011 · 10 Comments · Feminism, Irish Politics, Social Policy
As the voices of accountability and concern are silenced under the fog of austerity, the Labour Party stand silently by. SAFE Ireland who support the development of services to women and children affected by domestic violence, count and document the numbers using the services and analyse the responses and need, lost their core funding and [...]
Tags:Labour Women·SAFE Ireland
Dermot Desmond’s Cultural Odyssey
November 27th, 2011 · 2 Comments · eejit.., Irish Media, Uncategorized
Suggestions as to what Mr. Desmond’s Cultural Odyssey might be in the comments please. Wonder if he had an arts guru think that up for him. (Original and really interesting article on the new found love of the arts from the Political classes and business tycoons here. )
Shatter responds to Prison Visiting Committee report
November 23rd, 2011 · 2 Comments · Social Policy
Further to the publication of the Prison Visiting Committee reports 2010 last week, the Minister for Justice and Law Reform answered questions on the matter in the Dáil yesterday. Deputies Clare Daly (Socialist Party) and Jonathan O’Brien (Sinn Fein) raised matters arising during the Topical issues time (a new procedure in the Dáil to raise… [...]
Tags:Alan Shatter·Clare Daly·Department of Justice and Law Reform·Dochas Centre·Jonathan O'Brien
The Dangers of kite flying
November 21st, 2011 · 2 Comments · Irish Politics, Social Policy
All together now. I wish I meant to be so humorous. The weeks before a budget divide and scare people and cause huge hatred and myth making in the media and amongst the general public. Some people have nobody to fly kites for them or stop the flight path. Last week Eamon Gilmore said that [...]
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The Dochas Centre and treatment of prisoners
November 19th, 2011 · 4 Comments · Social Policy
It is with regret that this committee notes a distinct shift from the ethos on which the success of Dochas was built and the committee express concerns over future direction of the prison. Dochas Prison Visiting Committee Report I have visited the Dochas Centre (in a personal/unpaid capacity) on a number of occasions over the [...]
Bertie heads to China …again
November 16th, 2011 · 8 Comments · Irish Politics
If you wondered where Bertie Ahern was last weekend when he missed the inauguration well you’d be right in thinking like me that he was on a ‘Bertie-earner’. He was in Shanghai at the Huatuo CEO forum speaking at a meeting also addressed by Bill Clinton and Rudi Giulliani. This is Bertie’s fourth trip to [...]
