Society

Can Davos 2012 offer real alternatives or will it serve up a smiling, gritted-teeth espousal that ‘business as usual’ can and should be sustained? By Simon Zadek.

The Greek government is in negotiations with private sector creditors to reduce its debt burden. Ireland is indeed, "not Greece". By Michael Taft.

Rushing through legislation to provide for ISP blocking in Ireland via the mechanism of a Statutory Instrument is entirely inappropriate. By Fiona de Londras.

I remember reading an interview with Otto Frank, the father of a young girl whose diary changed, forever, the way the world viewed human suffering. In the interview he uttered the poignant words, “I believe that it’s everyone’s responsibility to fight prejudice.”

Prejudice (noun) 1.unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature

We may end up paying twice for NAMA sourced social housing units - and the State may not even end up owning them. By Eoin Ó Broin.

On Wednesday 21 December 2011 Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan announced that NAMA were to make 2,000 properties available to the Government for social housing.

The troika's almost contemptuous dismissal last week of the concerns of the Irish people gives a good insight into the mentality of our EU overlords. By Vincent Browne.

It was the insolence of the troika members that was the most striking feature of their dreary press conference in the bleak European Commission offices on Dawson Street last Thursday. Polite insolence, but insolence nonetheless.

Andy Storey of the Not Our Debt campaign was on RTÉ’s Late Debate last night with, amongst others, barrister Paul Anthony McDermott and Labour TD Joanna Tuffy. He explained what the campaign was about, what the consequences of suspending payment of the debts incurred by Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide would be, and why the Irish people do not have a moral obligation to pay for the excesses of individuals such as Seán Fitzpatrick and Michael Fingleton.

2012 is looking up, with two achievable and realistic debt justice initiatives being proposed this week. By Michael Taft.

Ever since the crisis began, progressives have been on the back-foot, forced to react to the agenda driven by the orthodoxy. However, 2012 has started on a more hopeful note. There have been two initiatives that can provide the basis for a common-sense counter-agenda, not only capable of winning considerable support throughout society but – and this is always key – of winning.

Whether the ratings agencies get this or that decision right or wrong is not the point. They have become the buck-passing agencies for weakened states. The most important public judgements of credit-worthiness ought to be made in public institutions, not behind corporate doors. By Tony Curzon Price.

A new campaigning network of local and global justice organisations, Debt Justice Action, has today called on the Government to stop paying the debts of the former Anglo Irish Bank/Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS).  The campaign group – encompassing a coalition of representatives from the trade union, community, faith-based, global justice, environmental and academic sectors – argues that the debts of these now state-owned institutions are not the responsibility of people in Ireland.