Up to 40pc of staff working in a State child protection and welfare bureau have not been vetted by gardai, and HSE staff in one local area did not always notify the gardai of cases of suspected physical, sexual abuse or neglect of a child, according to a new report. The review, carried out by...
The Government’s proposed abortion legislation has been slammed as “gravely immoral” and Catholics cannot leave their faith “outside the room” when considering these matters, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, has said. In remarks at the closing of the Novena in the parish of Saint Patrick, Roden Place, Dundalk, Archbishop Martin said the government’s...
The Constitutional Convention has submitted its second report to the Government. It recommends amending, rather than deleting, Article 41.2 of the Constitution, which currently refers to women in the home. The report reflected the recommendation of the Convention’s meeting in February that the article be made gender neutral to include other carers in the home,...
RTE’s Morning Ireland programme this morning issued a clarification accepting that a prominent New Zealand psychiatrist was not unhappy about how his research was cited by The Iona Institute. On Tuesday, presenter Cathal McCoille interviewed Professor David Fergusson about the way in which his research had been cited by pro life groups. Dr Fergusson’s research...
Education Minister Ruiari Quinn (pictured) has sparked fears of a further cut to Child Benefit after he indicated he would spend the money saved on free pre-school places. According to The Irish Independent, Mr Quinn’s comments raising the prospect of further cuts have caused anger within the Coalition. Mr Quinn said he wanted to...
David Cameron’s insistence on redefining marriage and his refusal to date to grant a tax break to married couples cost the Tories seats in last week’s local elections, Conservative activists have claimed. Conservative Grassroots, a network of senior Tory party members, have said that the Prime Minister’s commitment to legalising same-sex marriage is harming the...
A prominent legal academic has said that a requirement in the Government’s proposed abortion legislation that hospitals must carry out abortions regardless of their religious ethos may not be in accord with the Irish Constitution. Professor Gerry Whyte of Trinity College Dublin, a leading expert in Constitutional law, said that Head 12 of the Government’s...
Draft legislation currently being considered by the Oireachtas is set to remove some of the legal obstacles facing grandparents who wish to have access to their grandchildren where the children’s parents split up. The legislation is also set to broaden the definition of a grandparent to take account of situations where parents may have had...
Legalising same-sex marriage would corrupt the natural setting for rearing children by a mother and a father, the Catholic Archbishop of Miami has said. Speaking at the Red Mass for the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, said that such a move would further spread “moral relativism,” which he added was one of the...
An increasing number of women are attempting “amateur abortions” at home, the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) has claimed. Dr Caitríona Henchion, medical director for the IFPA, at a press conference to discuss the Government’s proposed abortion legislation, said that one of their Dublin clinics had seen three such women in the first three months...
