Politics
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In its Programme for Government, no less than 25 small-business-specific commitments were identified. This recognition and focus in and of itself has been significant, and is justified, as the economic importance of small firms in Ireland cannot be overestimated. Even more problematic has been the championing of the trade-union-backed €11.50 “Living Wage” by some Government […]
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Result: D- Little real engagement on climate. Promised little but delivered even less: ‘dog ate my climate policy’ not a valid excuse. Avoided a ‘fail’ by scraping in Climate Act) The Fine Gael/Labour coalition government did manage to pull off one headline act that had eluded the previous FF/Green administration, and that was they managed […]
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Result: B- Significant achievements eclipsed somewhat by failures in high-profile areas The Programme for Government 2011-2016 set out a range of quite challenging targets in Education. In essence it sought to re-shape provision in a number of key areas while at the same time ensuring continuity with the core strengths of the system. This was […]
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For the first time in a decade, the Irish government defended its record on children’s rights before the United Nations in Geneva, on 14th January 2016. Poverty and homelessness, the rights of children in direct provision, the rights of Traveller and Roma Children and education issues were dominant themes, raised from different perspectives. The UN Committee […]
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The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 had passed through the Seanad and was before the Dáil. However, unfortunately the Bill will not be passed through the Dáil before the 2016 General Election. It is now vital to ensure that it is restored to the Dáil at the same stage it had reached very early […]
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We’re living in a “rape culture”, even though the term seems to annoy some people. So let’s just say we’re living in a culture in which rape is routinely trivialised, where victims are frequently blamed for its occurrence and their testimony is denied and ridiculed, and where the onus is placed on them to prevent rape […]
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The Government would be happy to go to the polls wrapped in the mantle of a ‘Yes Equality’ Government. The Government delivered on the marriage equality referendum. We had the referendum to beat all referendums and same sex couples can now get married, their relationships affirmed as equal. This was a remarkable achievement. Eamon Gilmore […]