The Irish debt deal did not reduce the amount owed by the country. Ireland still owes in the region of 125BN Euro – a staggering figure that will take decades to pay off. The new debt deal merely allows part … Continue reading Debt Deal for Ireland: A Step in the Right Direction?
The Report by the Committee that was established to investigate the role that the Irish Government played in the abuses perpetuated in the notorious ‘Magdalene Laundries’ is to be published. In the decades that followed the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 and the Republic in 1948 the Catholic Church had tremendous influence in Ireland. It is only since the 1970’s that this influence has declined. Over the last two decades the litany of abuse carried out in institutions by religious orders and sponsored by the State has been graphically exposed. One such institution was the ‘Magdalene Laundry’ … Continue reading Magdalene Laundries Abuses To Be Made Public
The recent attempts by the Irish Government to recruit new nurses into the profession at 80% of the usual starting wage has backfired. Nursing Unions have mounted a vocal campaign against the scheme which they regard as an insult to the work done by nursing staff on the front line of the health service. The Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) has been forced to extend the deadline for applications after interest in the jobs was reported as being very low. Should the HSE be forced to abandon the scheme all together it will be seen as a victory for the … Continue reading Nurses Set To Claim Victory In Showdown With Government
The tragedy of Irish emigration continues unabated. Over 46,500 Irish people emigrated from Ireland in the year up to April 2012. The rate of emigration is the highest in Ireland since the Great Famine in the middle of the nineteenth century. The devastating recession and austerity measures being imposed in Ireland have made work very hard to come by. Unemployment remains above 14% in Ireland and at over 11% in the Eurozone. Little wonder then that so many Irish citizens are flocking to places like Canada, Australia and America. More than half of the 6,350 working visas to Canada available … Continue reading Irish Emigration At Highest Level Since The Famine
The rate of unemployment in Ireland remains stubbornly high within the 14% to 15% range. This bad news has in part been reduced by an increase in the rate of emigration. The Central Statistics Office has announced that the number of people ‘signing on’ is just under 430,000, down just over 10,000 since the start of 2012. The figures could not mask the increase in the number of those considered to be ‘long-term’ unemployed. Nearly 190,000 of the total unemployed have been claiming benefits for over a year – a 3.3% increase over the year. The Irish Central Bank estimates … Continue reading Rate of Unemployment In Ireland Remains High At 14.6%
Ok there was no actual Pot but a hoard of 81 coins dating from the 1630’s to the early part of the 1700’s has been discovered by workmen at a County Tipperary Pub that had burned down some years ago. The hoard includes guineas and half-guineas including 35 Charles II coins, 25 James II coins, 19 William III and two William III and Mary III coins. Cooneys’ pub in Carick-on-Suir was one of the oldest pubs in the County until it was destroyed by fire. The unlikely find by the workmen has been described as perhaps the most significant archeological … Continue reading 17th Century Pot of Gold Found in Foundations of Irish Pub
Two separate opinion polls have confirmed the recent rise in support for Fianna Fail and the continuing decline in the popularity of the Labour Party. The left-wing Labour Party has been widely criticized by both its rank and file membership and by some of its own Parliamentary members for its conduct while in Government. The primary purpose of the Labour Party was to protect the most vulnerable and poorest sections of Irish society. Their association with the policies of the ruling Fine Gael Party is making a lie of that philosophy. Already they have signed up to budget cuts and … Continue reading Opinion Polls Confirm Labour Party Slide and Fianna Fail Gain