Society

Below is the complete text of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's address to the Order of the Knights of Saint Columbanus on the future of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

The Eurozone's response to yet another economic crisis harks back to the flawed economic model of the 1990s.  A new social and economic model is needed if Ireland is to develop a sustainable and equitable route out of the recession. By Anne Costello of the Community Platform.

The political debate is changing. For the Government and its supporters there is a renewed emphasis on how to restore Irish economic competitiveness.

The INMO's annual conference last week rejected the controversial Croke Park deal and proposed a 'third way' in reforming the health care system. By Sara Burke.

Over 300 nurses and midwives gathered in Trim for their annual delegate conference from the 5th to the 7th of May. The first motion considered by the conference was to unanimously reject the Croke Park deal. So why did they do this and what are they going to do now?

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) executive outlined four reasons for rejecting the deal:

Michael Gambon’s performance in Krapp’s Last Tape is a reminder that, just like any other playwright, it is the performances of great actors that give his words life. Politico looks back at the many talents who have risen to the challenge of playing Beckett. By Edward O’Hare.

In December 1957 Samuel Beckett tuned in his radio to hear a broadcast of his novel Molloy on the BBC. What he heard unnerved him. Reading Molloy was the Irish actor Patrick Magee whose distinctive tones were exactly those of the voice he had heard inside his head when composing the novel.

RX3, Ireland’s first ever conference on recycling industries and initiatives, was held in Dublin recently. Politico went along to hear the key-note speaker,the founder and CEO of Terracycle and America’s foremost eco-capitalist Tom Szaky, talk about his revolutionary concept: recycling as big business. By Edward O’Hare.

A nervous Mary Coughlan drew severe criticism from the opposition in her first committee meeting as Minister for Education yesterday.  By Shane Creevy.

Coughlan confirmed that there are no plans to bring in student fees in the lifetime of the present government. However, one new piece of information was made abundantly clear; there will be no rise in the student registration fee for the forthcoming academic year.

A strike that began at Connolly Shoes in Dun Laoghaire four weeks ago shows no signs of impending resolution. The strike has been undertaken by the Connolly workers in response to what they describe as "a breakdown of communication" on behalf of management. By Philip Pilkington.

As the British election reaches its climax, Nigel Keohane's book The Party of Patriotism charts the evolution of the British Conservative Party through the twentieth century. By Dr. William Mulligan.

The "seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century" was how the American diplomat and historian, George Kennan, described the First World War.

Added to the recent passage of anti-piracy legislation in the UK and France, a new EU proposal signals a continent wide crackdown on illicit internet use. By Joe Galvin.

Last Monday, EU ministers put forward proposals to set up a European cybercrime unit as part of a long term strategy to tackle the problems of fraud, illegal downloading and child pornography. The aim is to develop a harmonious, EU wide legal system to deal with illegal internet use.

(Pictured: Council of Europe building)

In the forthcoming Listowel Writers Week there is abundant evidence that Irish writing is alive and well. By Kate O'Toole.

Along with my fellow judge Giles Foden, I have sifted through the 150-odd titles entered by publishers for this prize. I can’t say it has been easy, but one of the writers here will go ahead to win the €15,000 prize on the opening night of the Listowel Writer’s Week Festival on June 2.