Society pays for its public health services through taxation, and the ethos of any public institution should reflect the secular, multi-denominational ethos of the citizenship it serves, writes Dr Mark Murphy.
Growing up just a few miles down the road from the Boston neighbourhood where gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger reigned, I saw through the lies that he protected residents from drugs and violence, writes Larry Donnelly.
The campaign to pummel the public into submission with ‘strategic’ pre-Budget scaremongering has begun in earnest – and the media is lapping it up, writes Paul Allen.
The Personal Insolvency Service is due to come into effect in the coming weeks, so what do you need to know about making an application? Stephen Curtis lets you know.
With water charges due to be implemented, Aisling Fitzgibbon argues that if people are paying for water they should have more of a say about what’s in it.
A ‘One Night Stand Guide – For Him’ on the CollegeTimes.ie caused controversy today after it told men to ‘prey’ on women and get them drunk. Cliona Saidlear writes there was nothing satirical about the article.
Three years ago, Karl Hughes was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, but he says it’s encouraged him to keep a positive mental attitude and to appreciate the time you have with your loved ones.
We sold our freedom long ago when we accepted mountainous debt in search of power and status, writes Steve Bonham. The lesson? Avoid committing to things that make us dependent upon the whims of others.
The treaty banning nuclear testing is yet to ratified by the US and other countries, but it is key to the steps to the path of nuclear disarmament, writes Jason Douglas.
Removing ‘lads mags’ from the top shelf won’t make much of an impact when it comes to the bigger picture, writes Aoife O’Connor, who says there is a lot more things objectifying women that need to dealt with first.
A father of two girls, both with disabilities, says cutting the much-needed day support will make it difficult – if not impossible – for his family to cope.
The haters will hate, and the begrudgers will begrudge, but Pat Kenny’s million-euro move to Newstalk was a stroke of genius by the independent broadcaster, writes Paul Allen.
We’ve watched people disappear from our churches in recent year but Pope Francis has brought some back, writes Father Seamus Ahearne, who says from his first appearance, this pontiff showed he was different.
Watching ‘Collateral Damage’ – footage that shows US military opening fire on men and children in Baghdad – one can see why Manning wanted the American people to see what was happening in their name, writes Neil Walsh.
While pornography can create dangerous misconceptions about sex, shutting down all such exploration only reinforces the notion that sex is something dirty and shameful, writes Genevieve Shanahan.
It makes me feel guilty when we talk about race, and I suspect that’s how most white Americans feel, writes Larry Donnelly, who says there is still a way to go yet before racism no longer has a stronghold in America.
With some in the Seanad behaving like they at auditions for the Muppet Show, before the public gets to vote on its future, senators did little to encourage us to save their bacon, writes Paul Allen.
The Dáil and Seanad may not be voting but that doesn’t mean TDs and Senators are on holidays. In fact, the summer months are when a lot of important work gets done, writes Anne Ferris TD.
The UK plans to make online pornography an ‘opt-in’ choice to try and shield children from it – but will that really protect kids from early sexualisation?
Public interest, freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial: all these factors form a carefully-balanced relationship between the media and criminal justice system. But just how clear-cut is the law? asks Fergal Crehan.
The Constitutional Convention has made substantial recommendations, including on sensitive topics such as gender equality and same-sex marriage. We can only hope the government passes the recommendations on to the people, writes Dr Matthew Wall.
The banks are not looking at the long-term resolutions strategies for homeowners in debt; the only available strategies are limited to those that that suit bank recovery, writes Julie Sadlier.
It’s been revealed that the Harry Potter creator used a male pseudonym and is in fact the author of a new mystery crime novel – but Michelle Jackson writes that it is sad Rowling had to do that to achieve critical acclaim.
There’s no excuse for women not coughing up when it comes to footing the bill for a date – an equal partnership means equality across the board, writes Aoife O’Connor.
The consequence of tax avoidance and evasion by multinationals and wealthy individuals is higher income taxes for the rest of society, writes Dr Tom McDonnell who says Ireland is certainly not a haven for the average taxpayer.
Confidential documents from the 1940s show that the maintenance of Ireland’s neutrality was going be difficult – and hard decisions on policy would have to be made practically every day.
The new jobs on offer are not beyond the capabilities of our people, but there is one thing we are lacking – a proficiency in foreign languages, writes Aaron McKenna, who says we should try and rectify this for future generations.
There is an economic and social value in preserving our bogs. We need to forget our romantic ideas turf fires and preserve our heritage, writes Kieran McNally.
There is a breakdown in communication between the citizen and their elected representatives when, ironically, our representatives are arguably more contactable now than they have ever been before, writes Sarah O’Neill.
Volunteering with Childline can be challenging and difficult at times, write a group of volunteers from Childline Cork, who say although it can be heart-wrenching it is worth it.
A Bethany Home survivor, who now lives in Australia, writes about how his time in the home shaped and damaged his life and his journey to find out the truth about his birth.
Two Fine Gael TDs were in the spotlight this week but for completely different reasons, writes Gary Murphy, who says we need to decide what type of politics we want.
Protests by asylum seekers are not a manifestation of greedy migrants looking for more entitlements from the state, but the symptom of a deeply flawed and failing immigration system, writes Matt Canon.
Barry Andrews, CEO of GOAL, writes from Juba, South Sudan which is “badly neglected… but a model of modernity in comparison to the rest of South Sudan”.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS faced mounting criticism over its messaging around Covid-19 restrictions, particularly in the last few days.
Our political correspondent Christina Finn writes that the confusion about how the government plans to handle the next phase of the pandemic was not just about mixed messages, but also about plain old bad communication.
She breaks down the numerous bumps for government communications in recent days here.
Government themselves are not as convinced. Taoiseach Micheál Martin told reporters last night that he didn’t think the government had a problem with communicating a clear plan, while Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said this morning that if there have been any failures “we have to accept responsibility for that”.
Today we’re asking: Do you think government communication around Covid-19 restrictions has been clear in recent weeks?
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