Politics

The new rate of €193 will still be €11.30 below the maximum working-age payment made in 2009; and €102.70 for 18-24s

Our crumbling infrastructure for equality is symbolised by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). There are other symbols, but this one still stands out. The Commission was a product of the economic crisis, the official turn against equality, and the disenchantment with public-sector bodies designated by a hostile media as ‘quangos’. It was created out of […]

There is much talk nowadays about the practical difficulties of multiculturalism (and of the rejection of tolerance by radicals promoting violence). With a shrinking world on our doorstep, integration of peoples of different cultures is preferable to ghettoisation and apartheid. Radicalisation is the byproduct of alienation which thrives where the legal system appears to be, […]

The modern State is a hybrid, an extraordinarily complex machine. Beyond the well-established remit of setting laws, collecting taxes and managing international relations, the Irish State has been involved in incarcerating women and children, commemorating the past and exploring outer space. Often, the State is idealised as a sort of referee who sets and implements […]

My election as Chairperson of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) and that of a renewed Executive Board, comes at an exciting time, as the vibrant feminist movement in Ireland is experiencing a huge resurgence, particularly among younger women. As the representative national women’s organisation in Ireland, the NWCI is leading the work for […]

There are disturbing messages coming this autumn from the global rankings of universities. Ireland is sinking: only one Irish university retains a place in the top 100 universities of the world and that is Trinity College, Dublin, hanging on by its fingernails at 98th in the ‘QS’ rankings. In one respected index TCD was not […]