Childminders are reporting a significant fall in the amount of time that parents want to put their child in daycare, according to a new survery. According to the study, which spoke to childminders across the country, nearly 50pc of parents have reduced the number of hours for which they are seeking childcare in the past...
There has been a slight rise in the overall EU fertility rate, according to the latest report of Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. However, the figures reveal that that the total fertility rate (TFR), remains significantly below the level required to keep the population size constant in the absence of migration flows....
An appeal by the lesbian partner of a mother of a donor-conceived child against the refusal of the French courts to allow her to adopt the child was heard by the European Court of Human Rights (EHCR) earlier today. The case could have serious implications for adoption laws in Member States of the Council...
A US church’s advert telling people about an Easter service has been banned from cinemas and branded “too controversial” because it mentions the name of Jesus. Compass Bible Church in California produced a short, mild cinema ad to invite people to its Easter event. But the ad, which mentions the name of Jesus twice, has...
Clergy and religious like Catholic priests and nuns or Protestant pastors longer than members of other professions, according to a Korean survey published this week. The findings tally with a number of earlier surveys showing that religious people tend to have better mental and physical health. A paper published in 2009 by the Iona Institute...
Attempts to legalise same-sex civil unions in the US state of Colorado have been blocked after a key committee allowed the legislation to die in the state’s legislature. It is the latest setback for same-sex marriage advocates in the US. Last month attempts to legalise same-sex marriage in Maryland, one of the most liberal states...
A Council of Europe convention on combatting violence against women has become the first international treaty to describe gender as a social construct meaning the roles of men and women have no biological basis. Article 3 (c) of the treaty, entitled “Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence”,...
Former Taoiseach John Bruton has defended the teaching of the sacraments in primary schools. He was reacting to suggestions made by the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn earlier this week that the teaching of First Communion and Confirmation took up too much class time. He referred to figures showing that the perfomance of Irish pupils...
Atheism should be taught in Educate Together primary schools, a leading member of the schools body has said. Fionnuala Ward, Primary Education Officer for the non-denominational patronage body said that those describing themselves as having no religion were the second biggest “religious” group in the last Census. The Central Statistics Office figures showed that there...
Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald (pictured) has insisted that the proposed referendum on children’s rights is still a “top priority” for the Government, despite its absence from the Government’s initial legislative programme. Ms Fitzgerald said yesterday the fact that the referendum was not part of the legislative programme did not mean that the proposed amendment...
