Unions should sponsor research as to their impact on the equality measure, the gini co-efficient; or risk being seen as a force, sometimes, for the already relatively privileged   By…

Nineteen-thirteen was the year of the Dublin lockout and the courageous if unsuccessful struggle of Jim Larkin and the ITGWU against William Martin Murphy and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce….

Organising Trade Unionism values equality, fairness, coalitions and grassroots campaigning, over merely servicing union members, writes Ethel Buckley   Workers, their families and communities across Ireland are enduring the ravages…

Ireland’s cosy social partnership means we’re doomed to low growth and unserviceable debt   By Constantin Gurdgiev Over the next two issues, I will look at the core targets and…

The community sector is being gradually and inexorably dismantled as part of the Government’s austerity programme writes Niall Crowley,  while two campaigners explain the reality of cuts (see below) This…

Forgotten economist advocated land tax, massive reduction in government and subventions and a basic income for all   Article by Roger Garland   Sometimes it is useful in times of…

The Famine led to land-clearance and an unhealthy fetish for livestock, beef and milk, as well as for sugar, white bread and tea, a new book reminds us   Article…

Psychiatrists have broad powers to forcibly treat and incarcerate when a multi-disciplinary approach is needed   Article by David McCarthy Institutional abuse festered in the past as a result of…

  JP O’Malley interviews Kofi Annan   I’m sitting in luxury on the ninth floor of the Dorchester Hotel, overlooking trees above the gates of Hyde Park. The autumnal sunshine…

It’s time to legislate for abortion in Ireland to save women’s lives, for rape victims and where the foetus is already dead   Article by Ivana Bacik from the Nov-Dec…

Is the government doing what it promised? Article by Mary Murphy The programme of the government that took office in March 2011, entitled New Government for National Recovery 2011–2016 (PfG),…

A new nutritional paradigm would help the planet and human health   Article by Frank Armstrong Three of our last four Ministers for Health share an unfortunate characteristic. While holding…

Kirby and Murphy tackle Ireland’s intellectual and political crisis Review by Niall Crowley         Towards a Second Republic: Irish Politics after the Celtic Tiger By Peadar Kirby…

Barristers ‘dining’ at King’s Inns are like prostrate vampires Article by Frank Armstrong   The Junior Cert ‘Civics’ syllabus enjoins students to understand that “laws and rules serve important services…

Public Private Partnerships tend to fleece the public Article by Rory Hearne     The Government announced a €2.25 billion Infrastructure Stimulus Programme in July. This Programme aims to generate…

A recent abrasive but illiterate argument about Ireland’s relative inequality on Vincent Browne’s TV3 programme (Tuesday 4 Dec http://tinyurl.com/2wsfzx4) between him and the Irish Times’ Dan O’Brien failed to register…

Citizens can request legislation, matching the power of the EU Parliament and Council Perhaps I should declare a personal interest at the very beginning: I drew up the first draft…

  Political Corruption in Ireland 1922-2010. A Crooked Harp ? by Elaine Byrne Manchester University Press Paperback, 224pp     Elaine Byrne takes the historical perspective on political corruption in…

Europe is in no mood to indulge further Irish flouting of environmental directives on agriculture, fisheries, SEA, greenhouse gases, animal waste and water quality Article by Tony Lowes Assurances from…