Ireland Inc. got the thumbs-up as the best place to do business. The glossy magazine headline hides a less attractive truth about tax, unemployment and Stalinist powers.
Learning to manage your expectations is the secret to finding your ideal partner, but professional matchmakers find that one factor is consistently keeping Irish people from finding their love match…
The Irish language is either a waste of scarce public money, or it is a national treasure that we must make it our mission to revive into daily use. Either way, it’s time to get off the fence.
Young people, and all of those who are unemployed, should not accept the choice the government is trying to offer us between emigration or life on the dole and in unpaid work, writes Kevin Coughlan.
People put a lot of pressure on themselves over Christmas, and the emphasis on making everything ‘perfect’ makes many feel inadequate, alone, or unable to cope. But there are ways to avoid anxiety, writes Ciaran Behan.
A reintroduction of the Christmas bonus would be a huge boost for both people who rely on social welfare payments and for the economy, writes Patrick Nulty TD.
It’s unimaginable to many in the developed world that a person could be last in line for medical care and education simply because of gender – but for millions of women this is the stark reality, writes Michael Marren.
Sexual violence is perpetrated by security forces, guerrilla groups and paramilitaries in Colombia – with journalists and human rights defenders targeted alongside civilians. But despite considerable personal risks, women are fighting back.
The experience of the darker range of emotions is healthy and natural. But what happens when traditional grieving practises fade away, when your community experiences mass emigration, or your friendships move online?
Worried about how your charitable donation is being spent? Don’t cancel your contribution, ask where it’s going – and expect a straight answer, writes CEO of Fundraising Ireland Anne Hanniffy.
Following revelations that top-up payments were being made to staff of the Central Remedial Clinic, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive investigation into how charities are run in this country, writes Anne-Maree Quinn.
Being ‘the best in Ireland’ is too limited a goal for Irish businesses today; businesses should emulate Germany’s ‘Mittelstand’ approach to drive export growth, writes Patrick Burke.
What is debt, and why do we all buy into this debt culture? Jillian Godsil discusses her own financial problems and the unsustainable status quo of modern Ireland.
The 50th anniversary of the death of JFK elicited understandable emotion here… but we must also appreciate our home-grown peace brokers, inspiring figures, and everyday heroes, writes Colm Bergin.
Dublin Stewart Smyth remembers The Blades, the band that played the soundtrack to his youth, ahead of their reunion this month – and underlines how some of the social issues they addressed in 1980s Ireland persist today.
Without power, our modern society cannot function normally – which is why workers at the ESB ought to be banned from striking and causing a total or partial power failure, writes Aaron McKenna.
Horrific reports of violence have poured out of the Central African Republic this week – with summary executions and mass displacement terrifying civilian communities, writes MSF Director Jane-Ann McKenna.
The Irish public increasingly aware of the importance of mental health – but the role that alcohol plays in psychological problems remains taboo to many, says Katie Varvos.
We cannot pretend trafficking does not exist. Today experts from across the EU will meet for discussions in Dublin to support victims and bring the organised gangs to justice, writes Denise Charlton.
With employment figures finally on the up and job announcements by the likes of Microsoft making the headlines, it is time to start cheerleading our thriving start-up sector, writes Paul Allen.
There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than Ireland… most of the time. But this is the one day of the year that I would give almost anything to be back in my home neighbourhood of East Milton, Boston, writes Larry Donnelly.
Our Minister for Justice has bypassed the opportunity to introduce a humane and expedient way of processing asylum applications in favour of a new, unwieldy system which will lead only to further delays, writes Fiona Hurley.
Family and social life has changed radically since our Constitution was published in 1937, resulting in many Irish families today being effectively ignored by society. But that can all change, writes Karen Kiernan.
The landmark referendum is to be held next September but, whatever the outcome, questions remain over how it might affect national identity and government policy in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, writes Natalie Tennyson.
Irish Radio is not reflecting the needs of 51 per cent of Irish society and therefore is failing society as a whole. We cannot simply wait in hope that the culture might change, writes Lucy Keaveney.
“The model of social partnership promoted since 1987 relies for its internal cohesion on permitting people at various levels within the system to milk that system for their own benefit.”
A CALL FROM TD Clare Daly that the motorway speed limit be raised from 120km per hour to 130km per hour has been rejected by Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar.
It has been suggested that higher speed limits on motorways could help boost the economy by shortening journey times. However the government has been working on a number of new measures over the last year to reduce speed on roads, though this is mainly in rural areas and city centres.
So what do you think? Should the speed limit on Irish motorways be raised?
Intervals of clouds and sunshine
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Periods of sun with a couple of showers
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