Society

A paper released today by Social Justice Ireland says that the current welfare state will support only middle class and wealthy people in the years to come. The paper said the poor are likely to lose out if “challenges facing the welfare state are not addressed comprehensively".

The paper, written by directors of Social Justice Ireland Seán Healy and Brigid Reynolds, was presented at a conference today on The Future of the Welfare State.

With the popularity of President Barack Obama waning and the upcoming November elections predicted to be disastrous for Democrats, Race of a Lifetime looks back to Obama’s historic journey to the presidency. The book captures the madness and drama of the US presidential election and reveals the candidates' private reactions to their campaign difficulties. By Sean Carroll.

A protest against the withdrawal of bus services in South Dublin was held outside Dublin Bus head office in O'Connell Street this morning. Around twenty protestors carried placards and chanted slogans against the planned changes to the 46A route. Bus services across the city are being streamlined as part of a series of "efficiency reviews" by Dublin Bus. [Video below]

The Comptroller and Auditor General's report, released on 15 September, devoted over a hundred pages to scrutinising how specific monies have been spent on health. In particular, it highlighted €44 million the HSE spent on agency staff in 2009. By Sara Burke.

Figures obtained by me today show that so far this year just another €30 million has been spent on nursing agency staff. Clearly this is not the best use of public money.

It's a new term for the HSE, with a brand new CEO, a new chairman of the board and a new progress report. On 9 September, they published their first figures for this year on their own performance. There is some good news, some bad, overall their own figures demonstrate progress is slow. By Sara Burke.

Today the numbers of public patients waiting for hospital care hit the headlines.

We believe we have no option but to defer again and again to the financial elite, even when the elite then punish us for the scale of our deference. By Vincent Browne.

An independent Zimbabwean collection reveals another side to this tragic country. By Clare Lanigan.

In recent years it seems the only news stories coming out of Africa are about poverty, corruption, violence and misery, so it's easy to forget that the continent is more than just the disaster zone of the world.

The Community Platform today launched a campaign for a more progressive tax system. Speakers at the launch criticised government cutbacks and media reportage of the cuts. By Shane Creevy.

Chaired by Fergus Finlay in Buswells Hotel, The Community Platform (consisting of 29 national networks and organisations) launched a campaign to influence public opinion in advance of Budget 2011. The group proposes that cuts are not the only option for the government to reduce the budget deficit.

Political philosophers need to become public intellectuals once again. Book review by Joseph Mahon.

Political philosophy may be defined as a rigorous analysis of the concept of the good society. In this connection, philosophers sometimes distinguish between a good society and the good society.

Annabel Lyon has managed to write an historical fiction that rings true in modern times. By Clare Lanigan.