Society

This week Alan Shatter told the Dáil that 49 people have taken their own lives while living in direct-provision centres in the State in the past decade. Earlier this year the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern at the negative impact direct provision had on the welfare of asylum seekers. It said delays in processing their applications meant asylum seekers spent lengthy periods in direct provision, often leading to health and psychological problems,

He has endured set-backs, betrayals and litigation and his company has survived recessions, take-over bids and near-bankruptcy. Hero or villain, star of The Apprentice Sir Alan Sugar is a man who knows what it takes to keep a business alive. His autobiography, What You See is What You Get, is a fascinating, articulate and funny account of one man’s journey from the market stalls of the East End to doing business with some of the biggest names in technology and the media. By Ed O’Hare.

Ireland should become more like Europeans and junk our nonsensical low-tax model. By Michael Taft.

You can hear the Ministers brushing up on their variants of TINA – there is no alternative. Ruairí Quinn is leading the way:

Science’s outspoken envoy Richard Dawkins came to Dublin last week to participate in the first ever World Atheist Convention. His revulsion to the irrational is as fervent as ever. John Holden reports.

Richard Dawkins has a lot of enemies. As a consequence of his outspoken views on the perils of religious belief he has had to put up with hate mail, death threats and worse for decades.

Fiona MacCarthy looks back on the last debutantes' 'Season', in 1958. By Joseph Mahon.

Last Curtsey: The End of the Debutantes by Fiona MacCarthy. Faber and Faber, 2006.

Are the rich very different to the rest of us, or is it just that - as Hemingway insisted – that they have lots more money?

Greg Philo and Mike Berry expand on their work in Bad News from Israel in a follow-up book, and uncover the ideological biases at work in coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict. By Ronan MacDubhghaill.

An Irish company is about to hit the big time with the launch of technology the whole world has been waiting for. By John Holden.

The internet has fundamentally changed global communications. But now that it is a well-established medium in society, the flaws need to be addressed. At peak times of the day, everyone has experienced slow internet speed, particularly when trying to watch videos on YouTube or make Skype video calls. The current fibre optic networks we use are not equipped to deal with ever increasing demand.

Cormac O’Malley reports on the Claiming Our Future event in Galway

The convention took place last Saturday, in the Bailey Allen Hall, NUI Galway. The objectives of the day were to share information and hear perspectives on low income and poverty, on high incomes and inequality, and on what a more equal, poverty-free Ireland would look like. With the information we were given, after being divided in to groups, discussion and occasionally lively debate arose between members of all groups.

Giving Ireland a realistic timescale in which to pay creditors isn't just morally right; it's good business sense, too. By John Clark.

The OECD's proposal to cut social welfare to increase employment came straight from Krusty's Big Book of Bonkers Ideas. By Michael Taft.