The ‘family’ is at the heart of the Irish constitution but the child is not: this was the message from those present at the ‘1 Million Reasons to Oppose Cuts to Child Benefit in Budget 2010’ conference held in Dublin today.
Archbishops and bishops were guilty of a "catalogue of secrecy, cover up and inaction" relating to the sexual abuse of children by priests in the Dublin archdiocese between 1975 and 2004, according to the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation report published today. The report says there is "no doubt" that Church authorities were involved in a cover up and that "little or no concern [was shown] for the welfare of the abused."
Over 250,000 public sector workers across the country went on strike today over plans to slash €1.3 billion from the public sector wage bill, bringing many essential services to a halt. General Secretary of IMPACT, Peter McLoone acknowledged yesterday that the strike will cause hardship to those who depend most on public services. However, he, like many on the picket lines, argues that the Government has forced workers into strike action by failing to negotiate a fair alternative to a public sector pay cut.
Below is an extract from the first chapter of Judging Lemass, published by the Royal Irish Academy.
Interview with Ken Whitaker, Secretary of Dept of Finance under Sean Lemass
The Ryan report published this year revealed horrific and "endemic" child abuse by clergy into whose care children were entrusted. Details of equally horrific abuse, concealed for decades by four Catholic archbishops of Dublin, are emerging this week from the report of the Commission set up to enquire into abuse within the archdiocese.
Successive Irish governments have repeatedly ignored the need to shape policy on a new set of indicators that measure real social progress rather than just economic progress. Their obduracy has squandered the potential for “major social gains” during the Celtic Tiger era, a conference heard on Tuesday. The same policy recommendations were re-iterated at the conference. By Malachy Browne. Additional reporting by Deirdre O'Regan.
Instituting energy efficiency measures in public sector buildings could save the taxpayer up to €100m in two to three years, according a report by Dublin Friends of the Earth (DFOE).
The ‘Through the Roof’ report shows that only one in five public buildings in Ireland have Display Energy Certificates (DECs). Public buildings with a floor area greater than 1,000m2 are legally required to have a DEC since 1 January 2009. This equates to approximately 5,000 public buildings in Ireland.
Carbon emissions trading could create up to 5,000 jobs in Ireland. However, some groups say that carbon trading could trigger another financial crisis.
The Irish football team's exit from the FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers has prompted a wave of abuse against French footballer Thierry Henry on Facebook. Within two hours of the final whistle, a Thierry Henry "hate" page on Facebook had 15,435 fans, hundreds of comments, and tens of photos, many of them abusive and bigoted. Ireland was eliminated from the qualifiers in a 1-1 draw with France (2-1 to France on aggregate) in which Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball in extra-time to create France's only goal.
