When the Constitutional Convention voted in favour of same-sex marriage at the weekend, Ireland took a step closer to rejecting the right of a child to have the love of both a mother and a father where such are available. The Convention heard a great deal about the love two men or two women can...
The Constitutional Convention debates same-sex marriage this weekend. In my Irish Independent column this week I set out the argument for not redefining marriage. The core question for the delegates: do they believe there are real and complementary differences between men and women and mothers and fathers that should be embodied in a distinct and...
A story from the UK last week suggested that by the time they reach 14, nearly all boys have accessed pornography. While we don’t know the figures here, we can be sure that it is a growing problem in Ireland too. It is in this context that the controversy over the SpunOut website, which described threesomes...
Are there any real differences between men and women apart from the obvious, physical ones, or have the differences all to do with the way we’re formed by society? This article by Professor William Reville in the Irish Times the other day sets out the precise scientific basis for why the sexual differences between men...
The Department of Education has published the results of a survey of parents in another 38 areas to find out how many want to send their children to a non-denominational school. Once again, there was a low response rate and little interest was shown in alternatives to Catholic schools. In 15 of the 38...
The Iona Institute, among other pro-marriage groups, likes to use a number of studies to buttress its case that marriage should be given special status. It is obvious that marriage should not have special status unless there is something special about it. What is that something? The answer is the benefits it passes on to...
The Government is set to recognise the altered birth certs of people who have had their genders ‘reassigned’ overseas, but they are not yet changing the birth certs of people who have had their gender reassigned in Ireland. In addition, it will allow that person to marry a person of the ‘opposite’ sex. In a...
Labour’s Eoin Holmes has done spectacularly badly in the Meath East by-election. Holmes ran in part on a social issues agenda. He made lots of noise about Labour’s stance on abortion and same-sex marriage, and had Ivana Bacik (pictured) as a prominent part of his campaign. It did him no good whatsoever. Clearly voters in...
Last Sunday saw another mass protest against same-sex marriage in Paris. This video gives a good feel of the colour, atmosphere and sheer joie de vivre of the overall march. It shows that the event was well organised, positive in tone and was a representative cross section of French society, with young and old alike...
Why do economists strongly recommend schemes promoting higher levels of college education, but almost never promote schemes to incentivise marriage? After all, both are beneficial. It’s an interesting question, posed by writer Megan McArdle in this blog. She points out that both third level education and marriage are linked to higher earning power and...
