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Latest

This year
2023
Lynn Ruane: NDAs have been misused as a tool to enforce a culture of silence - this has to stop
The senator has a new bill to prevent the use of NDAs in instances of abuse and bullying in the workplace.
15.9k
43
Updated
Oct 20th 2023, 8:45 AM
Lynn Ruane: 'Christy, you inspired me to live longer, love deeper and fight harder'
The senator pays tribute to the late Christy Dignam who will be laid to rest today.
30.4k
27
Updated
Jun 17th 2023, 8:00 AM
Lynn Ruane: In all my years of community work I've never met the ones 'fighting for Ireland'
The independent senator takes the narrative of the Far Right to task and asks them just how much they truly care for communities in Ireland.
51.6k
36
Updated
Jan 19th 2023, 9:40 PM
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Last year
2022
Lynn Ruane: Some refugees are vilified for being from certain places or because they are men
Whether it is sinister actors or simply those with misplaced fears, many now seem comfortable asserting a hierarchy of who is worthy of protection, Senator Lynn Ruane writes.
24.0k
61
Nov 24th 2022, 6:00 PM
Lynn Ruane: A mature society accepts that drug use is normal and does not punish addiction
The independent senator says criminalising addiction is about intimidation – it’s society taking revenge and warning others of their fate.
30.4k
122
Feb 20th 2022, 7:30 AM
Lynn Ruane: Global drug laws can be traced back to a small group of conserative American men
The independent senator looks back at the influence of powerful US politicians with racist agendas on global drug policies.
33.8k
49
Feb 6th 2022, 7:30 AM
Lynn Ruane: Prohibition has never worked anywhere, and it never will
The independent senator says successive governments have failed to truly address the issue of drug use in Ireland.
24.3k
50
Jan 22nd 2022, 9:00 AM
All time
Lynn Ruane: My New Year gift to myself? Gratitude for my body
Being negative about my body is exhausting, so it’s time to stop, writes Lynn Ruane.
43.3k
22
Jan 5th 2020, 5:58 PM
Lynn Ruane: Drug courts are not the solution to Ireland's drug problem
We cannot have a National Drug Strategy that prefers the drug court to a health-focused approach.
15.2k
43
Dec 15th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: Harm reduction should always come first with criminal drug policy
We should decriminalise possession of drugs for personal use, writes independent senator Lynn Ruane.
14.5k
39
Nov 9th 2019, 7:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: Uniting movement groups in Ireland could lead to long-term change
There is common ground among different movement groups in Ireland, writes Lynn Ruane.
13.3k
29
Oct 20th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: 'We can't keep failing young people with inadequate sex education'
We are hopefully moving towards a country with a more positive attitude to sex and relationships.
13.0k
53
Oct 7th 2019, 6:30 AM
Lynn Ruane: We should all support choice in education
Parents need to have a choice over where they send their children to school, writes Lynn Ruane.
16.4k
63
Sep 22nd 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: Sport is part of the solution to address young men's mental health
Services such as the Breakthrough Programme in West Dublin can be a lifesaver for young men.
13.2k
11
Sep 8th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: 'You can't treat addiction like a business - and people with addiction like objects'
Applying neoliberal tools to community work is ultimately about cost-cutting and power, writes Senator Lynn Ruane.
50.3k
37
Aug 25th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: 'Help for suicide prevention can be hard to identify - and even harder to access'
The independent senator writes about the barriers in suicide prevention when it comes to helping people with their mental health.
16.3k
27
Aug 3rd 2019, 7:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: Child maintenance reform would be good for children - and good for the country
Many one-parent families are living at risk of poverty and an overhaul of our child supports legislation is vital to protecting their future.
23.8k
52
Jul 21st 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: In Ireland we're forcing carers to change their children on toilet floors
The Community Participation Bill 2019 has made me think about what real access looks like, writes Lynn Ruane.
35.5k
24
Jul 7th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: How this French charity shop treats the homeless should inspire us to help our own
Communal meals, a chance to work and help to make a home – the scheme gives clients control of their lives.
41.9k
31
Jun 23rd 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: An inspirational school project reminds us of our shared humanity
I find it obscene that Ireland is dragging its feet rather than creating an environment where families torn apart by war can start a new life, writes Senator Lynn Ruane.
11.6k
12
May 26th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: I'm tabling a bill to support the voices of community and advocacy groups
We need a vibrant and active civil society. Otherwise politicians and big business will call all the shots, writes Senator Lynn Ruane.
11.6k
23
May 12th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: 'Now is not the time to stop listening to David Attenborough'
We don’t have time for small measures when it comes to climate change, writes Lynn Ruane.
27.2k
51
Apr 28th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: The overdose drug Naloxone can save lives so let's remove the barriers to accessing it
There are more deaths in Ireland as a result of overdose than road traffic accidents and many of these deaths are preventable, writes senator Lynn Ruane.
23.1k
44
Apr 14th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: This Mother's Day, let's celebrate those mothers doing a tough job in challenging circumstances
Mothers with very little income, who manage to ensure their babies are warm, fed and in school on time – often alone or in tough or even violent situations, writes Lynn Ruane.
52.9k
14
Mar 31st 2019, 6:00 PM
Lynn Ruane: 'It should be a source of major embarrassment to Ireland that we are yet to ratify this important treaty'
Abuse within institutions and care situations isn’t just part of Ireland’s history, writes Lynn Ruane – it’s something that is still a reality for vulnerable groups today.
38.6k
30
Feb 24th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: 'We need to change society radically from the ground up'
I am a product of the community development projects that have been systematically eroded writes, Senator Lynn Ruane.
33.8k
37
Feb 10th 2019, 8:00 PM
Opinion: Pat was refused mental health services because of his addiction - now he's dead
Mental illness and addiction are interlinked so why are people who suffer from both routinely excluded from services, asks Senator Lynn Ruane.
90.3k
52
Jan 27th 2019, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: People with a criminal record for minor offences deserve a second chance
Convictions for minor offences can hold people back from accessing employment and education long after they have completed their rehabilitation, writes Lynn Ruane.
24.5k
55
Jan 13th 2019, 8:50 PM
Lynn Ruane: In remembrance of my friend, Graham Jones
Graham Jones, who died earlier this month, lived an extraordinary life. Here, Lynn Ruane explains about the difference he made to the people around him.
30.6k
10
Dec 23rd 2018, 11:00 AM
Lynn Ruane: We must pioritise people's lives over pharmaceutical companies' profits
Pharmaceutical companies make obscene profits from life-saving drugs – we need to change the system to prioritise human life over profiteering, writes Lynn Ruane.
19.7k
50
Dec 9th 2018, 8:00 PM
'Amazing footballers see their talent as a distant memory - overpowered by isolation, addiction, homelessness'
The individual gets to meet that side of themselves again; the side of themselves that was confident, strong, talented and part of something, writes Senator Lynn Ruane about homelessness leagues.
14.7k
2
Nov 18th 2018, 7:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: Examining morality through the prism of social class
It is easy to set high moral standards for yourself and others, if you do not know what it is like to go hungry, writes Senator Lynn Ruane.
40.6k
85
Nov 4th 2018, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: 20 years on from the introduction of the methadone strategy, where are we now?
How effective has the strategy been and what is the legacy we are left with when so many people are on the drug for so long?
19.8k
26
Oct 21st 2018, 8:30 PM
'He chose to die at home. The hostel was his home': Lynn Ruane on hidden health problems in homelessness
The health rights of people in emergency accommodation are not a subject that comes up often enough, writes Lynn Ruane.
22.5k
13
Oct 14th 2018, 8:30 PM
Lynn Ruane on sexual assault: 'I carried a shame that wasn’t mine for years before I told anyone'
It’s been 16 years since the Savi – Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland – report, and it’s high time Ireland has another one, writes Lynn Ruane.
32.9k
11
Oct 7th 2018, 8:00 PM
'The devastating impact of social class is not an abstract concept to hundreds of thousands on this island'
Working class communities are punished for a system they had little real control over, writes Lynn Ruane.
61.0k
198
Aug 12th 2018, 7:30 PM
Lynn Ruane: 'She was pure goodness and spent her life sharing that goodness'
What will never be lost is the incredible positive change that Ann-Louise left with us, writes Senator Lynn Ruane.
1.3k
6
Jun 15th 2017, 6:00 PM