The UK’s Attorney General has said the possible introduction of same-sex marriage will raise ‘profound philosophical difficulties’ for some religious workers in the public sector. In an interview with a Christian radio station in the UK, Mr Dominic Grieve, said that same-sex marriage would inevitably create “friction”. He cited the example of a public official...
Good parenting is more important than the quality of a school in terms of educational attainment, a new study suggests. According to research involving 10,000 teenagers, the home environment is three times more important than the school when it comes to 18-year-olds’ test results, reports The Daily Telegraph. Students at weaker schools whose parents took...
Couples with children were the only households in Ireland to see their income drop in the last few years according to the CSO. The new figures compare the period 2004-2005 with 2009-2010. It found that despite the recession every type of households expect for those comprising a mother and a father with children saw their...
The Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has once again pressed Taoiseach Enda Kenny (pictured) to say he supports a referendum on same-sex marriage. Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday in a debate about the forthcoming constitutional convention, Mr Kenny said that a referendum on the issue was “certainly feasible within the lifetime of this Government”...
There were a record number of complaints to the Office of the Ombudsman for Children last year, according to its report, published today. The report showed that the Office received 1,393 complaints last year, a 22pc on 2010. Forty seven percent of these complaints related to dealings with the education system, with a further 32pc...
The former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese (pictured) has said she has “no problem at all” with same-sex marriage. She made the remarks in an interview with Gay Byrne to be broadcast tonight as part of his Meaning of Life series. Mrs McAleese said she believed that for centuries “gay people have lived in a...
British teens clock up six hours’ screen time a day at home, while North American children manage almost eight hours, and this poses major health risks, according to a leading psychologist. According to research cited by Dr Sigman, negative impacts on health and wellbeing kick in after just two hours. In a new paper,...
A UK High Court judge has warned of the pitfalls of surrogacy after the Indian mother of twin boys ‘disappeared’ before giving her formal consent for them to be brought up by a British homosexual couple. Surrogacy involves gestating a baby in another woman’s womb. In a number of countries, surrogacy arrangements are illegal, because...
France, Germany, Greece, Romania and the UK have a high degree of social hostility towards religion, and the level of hostility is growing, according to a new survey. The study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life says that in 2010 there were 95 countries worldwide in which Christians suffered harassment...
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn (pictured) has said he has no intention of implementing a controversial recommendation to abolish Rule 68 for National Schools. The rule recognises religious instruction as a fundamental part of the school day and permits a religious spirit to “inform and vivify the whole work of the school”. Its abolition was...
