International support is necessary, but ultimately the change to Russia’s attitudes to LGBT people can’t come from a foreign country – it has to come from a grass-roots movement within Russia itself, writes Igor Yassin.
Supporting a child through grief can seem like a daunting process but it requires three simple human attributes, Aoife Mary O’Brien explains: honesty, patience, and empathy.
Micheál Martin has stabilised the party with relative ease and skill – but will he become the first leader of an Irish political party to lead a solely southern-based party into Northern Ireland?
Conventional economics assumes people can easily and dispassionately calculate the pros and cons of their decisions, but most of us fall somewhere between Mr Spock and Homer Simpson when it comes to logical thinking.
The poppy does not glorify warfare, death, or British nationalism – it recognises the senseless horror of our shared European past, which we have a moral duty to remember, writes Kate Bellamy.
The Syrian people are now presented with the absurd situation of weapons inspectors freely driving through areas of desperate need – while the ambulances, food and drug supplies organised by humanitarian organisations are blocked.
If this first world country, where rain and green fields are an intrinsic part of the national mythos, can’t provide adequate water to its capital city… what else might the Irish be bad at providing for?
The law on birth registration in Germany is to be amended to permit ‘indeterminate’ to be recorded as the gender of a child born with an intersex condition. Irish authorites should take note of this welcome development.
New York’s Mayor Bloomberg intends raising the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 – and he’s right. This is the generation which can be protected from Big Tobacco, writes Kathleen O’Meara.
Structures need to be put in place to get the most amount of people to vote, to ensure the structures of the country have the greatest legitimacy along with those who govern them.
With property prices increasing in some parts of the country – and notably in Dublin – Ronan Lyons discusses whether we’re looking at a housing boom or a housing bubble.
I’m not a complete scrooge (I swear) but bah-humbug to Halloween! I can’t stand the expense, the binge drinking and the ubiquitous “sexy” costumes, writes Kate Bellamy.
Good food is inextricably linked to being healthy, so fighting many of our nation’s chronic health problems could start with what we have on our plates, writes Dorcas Barry.
Switzerland is considering the introduction of a Basic Income scheme, which would guarantee a standard benefit income to every citizen, regardless of need. Tom Boland looks at how that system would work in Ireland.
Despite the dark road I travelled after being assaulted, I realised that I’m a young, intelligent woman with everything to live for – and I won’t let my attacker ruin my life for one second longer.
The stories you’ve heard about Afghanistan won’t prepare you for what the country is really like: its colour, culture, laughter and resilience is amazing, writes Maya Pastakia.
More time in school would help students and teachers to tackle areas of underachievement in our education system – like mathematics, science and second language proficiency, writes Colm Bergin.
Sometimes what happens in Irish politics is so odd, you have to ask yourself… did that really happen? Paddy Duffy remembers the Lisbon referenda debacles.
As a nation we do ritual so well. Is it time to initiate a new one and embrace the reality of separation and divorce with the dignity and respect that all involved deserve?
Is settling down – whether that’s in matrimony or simply committing to someone you love – becoming another casualty of society’s increasing need for instant gratification?
Multibillion euro sporting events capture world attention and bring large scale benefits to a country or city – but there’s also a darker side to the festivities, writes Feargus Dunne.
The US state of Oregon is becoming one of the first places in the world to trial the idea of rolling out per-mile taxation of motorists. We should follow suit.
Budget 2014 hit the most vulnerable elements of society – not the young, the sick, the old, or pregnant alone. We need to show intergenerational solidarity and stand together against this injustice, writes Peter Kavanagh.
As Oireachtas Committee discussions this week focus on the Gender Recognition Bill, we need to remember the human stories behind the proposed legislation, writes Emma Cassidy.
Access to health services is key to leaving homelessness behind – which is why Budget 2014 is so damaging to the Government’s commitment to end long-term homelessness by 2016, writes Niamh Randall.
Lady Gaga brushed off an email from Instagram expressing “concern” for her well-being following some recent posts. But it’s not just celebrities who share, overshare, pose, frame and filter – we’re all at it.
When the State intervenes in family situations, it does so in our name. We should be aware of child care proceedings so we can all participate in an informed discussion rather than reacting to the latest headline, writes Carol Coulter.
Good citizenship in conjunction with some collaborative working between communities and government could build better and healthier communities, writes Anne-Maree Quinn.
Despite the highs and lows of his political career, former Taoiseach Jack Lynch was still described as “the most popular politician since Daniel O’Connell”, writes David McCann on the 14th anniversary of the death.
Restoring fiscal health to the eurozone remains a serious challenge, but the EU must nevertheless find a solution to its illegal immigration crisis to prevent further tragedies, writes David Moloney.
The world breathed a collective sigh of relief when an eleventh hour deal ended the US government shutdown – but it only fully funds the government until January, writes Larry Donnelly.
The fascination some politicians in Northern Ireland have with the Republic’s boom years is creating some strange political bedfellows and confusing policies, writes David McCann.
Is Facebook for friends and Twitter for the truth? Molly Garboden writes about how showing different sides to yourself to different people is a trick as old as time.
Cuts to medical card allowances and social welfare payments have a direct impact on peoples’ the mental health – I know because I am one of those affected, writes Kate Bellamy.
