Over three quarters of Irish voters are opposed to proposals to allow doctors to prescribe contraception to 14 and 15 year olds without the knowledge or consent of their parents, a new poll conducted by RedC on behalf of The Iona Institute shows. The poll shows that 77 per cent of people oppose the proposal,...
Plans have been announced to make divorce laws more standard across the EU in order to stop disputes over which country’s courts should handle divorce proceedings. The proposals, announced on Wednesday, will see domestic courts issued with standards to determine which national law should apply in cases involving couples with links to more than one...
Cork city has passed out Limerick city as having the highest number births out of marriage, new official figures show. The Quarterly Vital Statistics report, released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that nearly half, 47 percent, of all births in Cork city in the third quarter of last year were outside marriage. ...
Opposition suggestions that civil partnerships be made even more like marriage have been dismissed by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, who said they could give rise to a Constitutional challenge. Fine Gael Justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan proposed an amendment which have created a legal obligation on those in civil partnerships to seek reconciliation before the granting...
Mary White TD is to take over responsibility for the passage of the Civil Partnership Bill from Justice Minister Dermot Ahern after yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle. Ms White takes over the Bill because of her promotion to a junior ministry post and because responsibility for equality is being moved from the Department of Justice to her...
More Irish teenagers are having sex from as young as 14, and are at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to a new report. The majority of teens become sexually active at 17 — but the past five years has seen a growing number of 14 to 15-year-olds becoming sexually active, the report...
A prominent UK legal expert has urged the Government to scrap its plans to introduce legal rights for cohabiting couples who separate, on the grounds that it will be a “windfall” for family lawyers but for no-one else. Under the Government’s proposed Civil Partnership Bill, cohabiting couples who split could be forced to pay maintenence...
The Loreto order of nuns has applied to the Department of Education to be considered as a patron body for new schools, the Irish Independent has reported. The application is being seen as a marker that the Catholic Church wants to continue to open schools at second-level, including in growing communities that have a broad...
Growing birth-rates among religious believers, and falling birthrates among secular couples are set to dramatically shift the political and demographic make-up of the West, a leading academic claims. Eric Kaufmann, author of “Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? Demography and Politics in the 21st Century” says that “secular populations are static and heading for decline”....
Six social workers at Birmingham City Council have been sacked over catastrophic failures to protect children. Its director Colin Tucker said the social workers had not been not doing their jobs properly and had shown “no sign whatsoever” of adhering to expected standards. The sackings follow a case review into the death of seven year...
