Society

Glas Securities have described the unemployment situation in Ireland as 'disappointing'. It's not disappointing, it's an obscenity. By Michael Taft.

The lack of action on a survey of Travellers first published in 2010 shows no one cares. By Vincent Browne.

Ireland is a ‘low-insured’ economy. When it comes to both contributions and benefits this country is a laggard. What is needed is a long-term strategy that transforms social insurance from a mere ‘safety net’ to a welfare state that provides social and economic certainty to all workers. By Michael Taft.

Ahead of tomorrow's vote on the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in the European Parliament, Paul Murphy MEP explains why the agreement needs to be defeated. 

From European Digital Rights (edri.org).

ACTA and its impact on fundamental rights

This business of human rights seems, in part, to be a device for privileged people to escape the discomfort of being the beneficiaries of a hugely unequal society. By Vincent Browne.

It was heartening to witness some 2,000 people packed into the Grand Canal Theatre on 18 June to honour one of the world's iconic campaigners for human rights, Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.

Political systems promising security and social justice have been replaced by piracy, 'austerity' and 'perpetual war'; an extremism dedicated to the overthrow of democracy. By John Pilger.

Arriving in a village in southern Vietnam, I caught sight of two children who bore witness to the longest war of the 20thcentury. Their terrible deformities were familiar. All along the Mekong river, where the forests were petrified and silent, small human mutations lived as best they could.

There is considerable evidence to show that NERI’s expansionary fiscal programme would work, and that Claiming our Future’s proposals to promote growth and equity in the economy are achievable. By Michael Taft.

The disasters of the 1930s need not be repeated. Two of the world's leading economists ask us to sign a manifesto for economic sense.