Obesity the biggest threat to public health say GPs Health Minister Mary Harney's 'no-brainer' plan for an outright ban on sun beds has led to cries of humbug and accusations of hypocrisy. [...more]
Amid mounting concerns over the number of late entries onto the electoral register Sinn Fein is calling for an urgent review to tackle what it describes as "an absolute mess" in voter registration. This view is echoed by other candidates and parties in Laois with the outgoing Mayor, who lost his Council seat, claiming that the register is riddled with as many as three thousand errors and discrepancies. [...more]
Despite mounting pressure on rising fuel prices Government sources dispute there is any quick fix to what they describe as “an international phenomenon affecting all countries.” The Taoiseach’s office also robustly rejects that as fuel prices soar that they are cleaning up on tax take. [...more]
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Cowen seems like a man cut out for a recession. “People expect him to be tough, they’ll be disappointed if he’s not,” suggests one close aide this week. [...more]
The Taoiseach had picked the right place to make his stand. If not the high ground, at least he was among friends and he had their unstinting morale support. [...more]
Cowen will neither be parochial or plámás By John Whelan [...more]
He will not fear the challenges or expect favour if he fails. As he often jokes, with that glint and smile as he reassures constituents that he is on top of their problem, 'You know Moloney will be the last man to let you down'. [...more]
"There is a huge willingness of staff in the frontline who personally feel frustrated with the failures in the service and the senior management must accept that there are no excuses for the errors we have seen. It goes to prove that the management structures are not in place if the public perception is of an organisation that can't even get a mailing list right." [...more]
Moloney's ministerial appointment has been largely well received, but there were no bonfires in North Offaly as his elevation is seen as making it even more difficult to win back the seat from Laois, which had been held by Bracknagh's Ger Connolly for almost 30 years. [...more]
While improving teacher numbers is important, we must also focus on measures to enhance the quality of education [...more]
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