The controversy over horse DNA found in beef burgers should be put it in its proper context - that of a society characterised by quite serious material inequality. By Alistair Fraser.

Horseburger. There’s no shortage of commentary. What else is there to say? We know it highlights important issues for us to consider about the food processing industry and its powers and vulnerabilities. We know it says a lot about the sort of food economy with which we interact on a daily basis. And it forces us to dwell upon the idea of eating horse meat - and indeed meat from other animals we might actually be happy enough to consume. All of these issues have been aptly and effectively discussed this past week.

Somewhat lost in the debate, however, has been attention to the sort of social processes that generate demand for these ever-cheaper processed foodstuffs. Without question, the supply-side of the equation has been tackled: competition drives so-called innovation, new ways of producing food are created, new products conjured up, and new regulatory practices emerge that may or may not do enough to ensure food is safe and/or correctly labelled, etc. But what about the demand-side? There are two connected issues here. Let me take the more personal one first.

The Irish political establishment will no doubt use its presidency of the EU to paint a rosy picture of a ‘social' European Union. But such a picture will jar dramatically with the reality of an EU that is the driving force in the austerity destroying lives in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe. By Paul Murphy and Kevin Henry.

The beginning of Ireland's six month EU Presidency was marked by Eamon Gilmore boasting in the European press that, "Ireland can help lead Europe's recovery". With 2012 marking the fifth year of domestic recession in Ireland and a return to recession in the Eurozone, working class people will rightly see this as empty rhetoric. The official slogan of the Presidency, "Stability, Jobs and Growth" fits into the same category, as well as being simply a rehash of the slogan used by the political establishment during the Austerity Treaty referendum.

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Ireland may not win football’s European Championship but when it comes to banking debt we are Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United all rolled into one with Real Madrid for a bench. By Michael Taft.

With considerable speculation about an impending deal on bank debt, with the Taoiseach and the German Chancellor jointly stating that Ireland is a ‘special case’, it is helpful to remind ourselves just how special a case we are.

Eurostat, the EU Commission’s data agency has calculated the cost of the banking crisis in each EU country. The following focuses on the cost to general government budgets. Ireland has really taken one for Team EU.

Whatever the reasons for cutting public sector employment and or pay, reducing the deficit is not one of them. By Michael Taft.

With negotiations over an extension of the Croke Park Agreement starting yesterday, it is helpful to remind ourselves how daft it is to downsize the public sector payroll in the hopes it will reduce the deficit.

There are two ways to downsize the public sector payroll: cut public sector employment and/or cut public sector pay. Since the crisis began, we have been doing both. Public sector pay has been cut twice through the pension levy and the wage cuts of Budget 2010. Public sector employment has been cut by approximately 29,700 since late 2008, or 9.3%.

Yet, the Government finds that it must cut more than it had already planned. It needs €1 billion more in austerity measures to achieve its targets. It’s like running in quicksand – cut, sink, cut some more.

Is higher taxation a bar to high investment levels? Obviously not - otherwise Ireland would be a league leader. By Michael Taft.

The Government seems to have done a U-turn on the issue of tax exiles. Despite the Programme for Government’s commitment on the issue, the Sunday Business Post reports that following an avalanche of submissions from the likes of the American Chamber of Commerce, etc. the Minister for Finance looks to do nothing. Why? Because it would undermine investment.

Minister Brian Hayes was also at it – claiming that tax increases were effectively over. Minister Lucinda Creighton backed up her party colleague. And Minister Richard Bruton also warned against further tax increases on high-income groups; again, because of that ol’ investment problem.

Increasingly, social welfare in Ireland is moving towards the model of the workhouse. By Tom Boland.

As the new year dawns we see shades of the past all around us: a man arrested for stealing bread, the return of emigration, soup kitchens throughout the country and all the while exports are booming. Another Dickensian ghost is being resurrected, under our noses; the old workhouse is re-emerging in a new guise.

In 2013 the Department of Social Protection plans to roll out Intreo offices facilitating the National Employment and Entitlements Service, which links benefits to efforts in job-seeking, as stated in the Pathways to Work policy: “In return, individuals must commit themselves to job-search and/or other employment or education and training activities or face sanction in the case of non-compliance.” If you cannot prove that you are seeking work, your benefits will be cut.

Hundreds attended a lunchtime protest outside the Dáil yesterday in support of carers who will be affected by cuts announced in last week's Budget. The protest was organised by The Carers Association.

Protesters were demanding the reversal of the 19% cut in the Respite Care Grant announced in the Budget. The cut amounts to a loss of €375 per year for an individual carer.

One of the attendees at the protest, Niall Murphy from Co Offaly explained the hardship his family face and how this cut will affect them: “My son Ryan is 12 years of age and has autism. He is severely autistic and non-verbal. My wife is a full-time carer and she can’t do anything else. If you break down the carer’s allowance and what she actually receives she probably gets less than €2 an hour. It’s very difficult and to cut this grant is absolutely terrible. We use it for buying services for Ryan, buying materials for Ryan and to try and get a break for my wife because she is there full-time. To take €375 from us is an absolute disgrace and the Government is showing how much they don’t care. It really is an appalling situation we are in. We know the country is in dire straits but this is not one they should have cut.”

The 1913 Alternative Visions Oral History Group was set up in September 2012 to collect stories from people whose families, communities or unions have memories of the 1913 Dublin Lockout and to consider the legacy of the Lockout in the light of 100 years of subsequent history. The project is sponsored by various trade unions and is led by oral historians Dr Ida Milne and Dr Mary Muldowney. Interviews will feed into a book due for publication in 2013 to celebrate the centenary of the Lockout.