If at any time in your life you are either wholly or partly unable to take care of your own needs – mental or physical, in whatever way and to whatever degree, then you have experience of what it is to be disabled. Alcoholic? Depressed? Broken leg? Asthmatic? Bad flu? Difficult pregnancy? Diabetic? There is a disability wherever there is impairment to typical functioning, social or practical, temporary or permanent.

With the 1916 commemoration approaching there are calls for debates on what it means, its legitimacy, and its relevance in contemporary Ireland.

The health services failed to seek consent from a parent for early intervention treatment for his child despite previously getting legal advice in this area and being told they should. Emma Browne reports

Travellers and other minority groups are suffering social injustice and racial violence, according to a report on human rights. By Emma Browne

Having espoused Marxism and nationalisations, Sinn Féin is now just a vaguely left-of-centre social democratic party. If Bertie Ahern needs to 'discover' a policy convergence between Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin after the next election, he will have little difficulty

In 1977 there were only seven Junior Ministers, now there are 17. At least seven of these positions are non-jobs

The Black Dog is an Irish interactive self-help website for men coping with mental distress. It is a confidential, independent, non-judgmental place to browse, let off steam and get support. John Higgins talks to Steven Winder, aka Barry Golightly, co-founder of the website

Issues raised recently by the Children's Ombudsman were highlighted almost four years ago by the SAVI report, but its recommendations were largely ignored. By Emma Browne

The chairman of the Public Appointments Service (PAS) is also on the board of Independent News and Media, with whom PAS places many of its recruitment ads. Emma Browne reports

Why stop at cable-cars? Michael Smith proposes a fully-fledged ski resort for Dublin