Cutting rent supplement has allowed the FG/Labour government to continue to make large cuts to the social welfare budget whilst claiming not to be touching "basic social welfare rates". The reality is that because it is left to tenants to negotiate with their landlords for a rent reduction, rather than such negotiations being undertaken by the department itself, this is rather like David negotiating with goliath and the tenant inevitably has to pay the not inconsiderable difference out of their already reduced social welfare payment. ... read full story / add a comment

A compilation of some comments made on Facebook regarding the proposed ethical approach to human rights, development, globalization to replace neoliberalism which may help give readers a greater understanding of the former approach which emphasizes bottom-up development rather than the extreme top-down control of development of the latter. ... read full story / add a comment

Members of several animal protection groups and anti blood sports organisations protested outside the Boylesports outlet at Westmoreland Street in Dublin on Thursday, July 5th. Among the protesters was Independent Dail Deputy Maureen O' Sulivan, who with Deputy Clare Daly plans to move a Private Members Bill to tackle hare coursing.

The demo focused on this bookmaker’s sponsorship of the horrific cruelty of this blood sport. Each year it pours huge amounts of money into the so-called “sport”, which involves the terrorising and savage mauling of captive wild hares in a wire-enclosed field or park.

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The Government, having reviewed the whole matter with great care and with reference to any future operations, have decided that the techniques...The statement that I have made covers all future circumstances."As foreshadowed in the Prime Minister's statement, directives expressly prohibiting the use of the techniques, whether singly or in combination, were then issued to the security forces by the Government."[3] These are still in force and the use of such methods by UK security forces would not be condoned by the Government. The leading nationalist party of that time, the SDLP took a principled stand and resigned from Stormont, "the sectarian parliament for a sectarian people," as boasted by Unionist leaders. ... read full story / add a comment

SPONSORSHIP OF LIVE HARE COURSING IN IRELAND

The multi-millionaire JP MC MANUS is sponsor of the annual Irish cup event, usually held in Co Limerick every Year. The Limerick coursing Club have recently lost their usual venue at the Limerick race track for next year and we now have an opportunity to lobby the sponsors. If sponsorship is pulled in this case it will be a serious blow to the Irish coursing club and help to end this blood sport once and for all.

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Jack Kavanagh of Larchfield, Kilkenny is a man who believes himself to have been unfairly treated by SIPTU. He has a long-running grievance concerning payments he believes he is entitled to from his days as a worker with Kilkenny County Council. ... read full story / add a comment

Letter to Dr Anne Jeffers ... read full story / add a comment

I'm putting up the full article as it requires registration to access it. Many activists are put off by this so please leave it up. It tells an important story about how land in the developing world is stolen, even by god fearing folk who made their money in private prisons. Another great article by Fred Pearce.

MIGHTY MOM was angry. She was doing her washing a few miles from Lake Victoria in east Africa, soaping her clothes in the shadow of a tall chain-link fence, behind which there was a large farm. The farm was owned by an evangelical American who had made his fortune running private prisons for state governments in the US before coming to Kenya and taking a leasehold to drain the Yala swamp and grow rice in place of papyrus. ... read full story / add a comment

Today what is described as the Irish working class is of a different character. Much of the working class work a three day week or don’t work at all. But they and the so called low paid worker receive a basket of benefits from the capitalist welfare state that bring their living standards up to the level(and even beyond) of the higher strata workers who, prima facie, appear to be better off. But much of this strata may earn less revenue, in effect, than many of these workers from the lower strata. ... read full story / add a comment

Sark is a tiny island, with a population of around 600 people of the coast off the coast of Normandy which operated a feudal system of government until 2008 when it was forced to comply with the EU convention of human rights. It is held as a fief on behalf of the Queen of England and while it is a part of Britain it is not part of the UK and sets its own tax rates which is set at an extremely low rate. ... read full story / add a comment

"Rent a drunken Paddy"
"They are only there for a sing song"
"Singing away while we are humiliated"
"They are an embarrassment"

These are some of the abuse leveled at the Irish fans who travelled to the Euro's by a small, yet loud, number of fans who stayed at home. To those of us who travelled we have a different story to tell. ... read full story / add a comment

For those of us who like a drink, but don't see ourselves as the type to march around with signs when banksters and politicians rob us and lose us our jobs, but still feel a tear when the anthem is played after the footy, here's a way we can get some relief and at the same time show our disdain for the crooks that helped get us into this bind. Lager louts and those with distended bladders who feel like "you're a nation" still, Here's an effective protest you can believe in! Go with the flow people ;-) ... read full story / add a comment

The horrific practice of live hare coursing in Ireland is kept alive by THREE main financial sponsors:

One of them is County Louth-based betting company, Boylesports.

... read full story / add a comment

In the last number of weeks I have been digging in relation to the newly appointed head of SFI Professor Mark Ferguson.

What I have found - seems to be slightly hidden from the Irish taxpayers. It is very subtle but yet constructive.

What I have found is completely fact and can be checked on Google and on various newspapers Ireland and UK. The one in particular I found most helpful was the Manchester Evening News. ... read full story / add a comment

When two Americans raised their fists in the Black Power salute in 1968 no one paid much attention to the third man. ... read full story / add a comment

British Headlines screamed; REES LASHES DUBLIN OVER TORTURE REPORT, Times, ANGRY REES ATTACK AS DUBLIN CHARGE OF TORTURE IS UPHELD: Daily Telegraph,REES ANGRY AS EIRE PRESSES TORTURE ISSUE, Sun,TORTURE TURMOIL, BRITAIN LASHES BACK OVER THE GUILTY VERDICT, Financial Times, IRISH PERSISTANCE ANGERS UK, Mirror, REES IN STORM OVER TORTURE. ... read full story / add a comment

This is in response to the article 'Frank Convery, Yvonne Scannell, Fracking and Local Credibility in Ireland' published in Irish Environment on May 30: http://www.irishenvironment.com/commentary/frank-conver...land/
... read full story / add a comment

By Lisa Hiariej, an Indonesian and Australian lawyer.

Almost all Australians have no sympathy for those they perceive as people smugglers. I do not blame Australians for that because they don’t know the real story about why they end up in Australian waters. I believe Australians know only what journalists tell them through the media.
The real story of the people who crew the boats is that they are lied to by the Mr Bigs, the organisers, who have little sense of responsibility towards them. These people took the passengers’ money and promised to give a small payment to those who would skipper, cook and deckhand the boats. But they never ever received the money.
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Rightwing parties have rounded on Mick Wallace, a true friend of the working class. ... read full story / add a comment

Michael Noonan attended the bilderberg meeting this year. Interesting that a key government official in charge of finance goes to a meeting with foreign banksters, financial terrorists and a host of global corporate evildoers. ... read full story / add a comment