Community Employment Scheme
for Jack O’Connor
I am the thin fat man woman
you have been assigned to,
henceforth known as
The Co-ordinator.

Before the afternoon’s out
I’ll have you counting toilet rolls;
or guarding the traffic cones
that live at the bottom of the canal.

Sinead Pentony: “The problem is unemployment - not the unemployed”.
Responding to reports that those receiving unemployment assistance could be coerced into taking up “social employment” positions through the threat of losing income supports, TASC Head of Policy Sinead Pentony said today making such schemes mandatory was unnecessary and would simply serve to stigmatise participants.

The meeting tomorrow of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) is being heralded as one of its most significant since the crisis began because of the potentially far reaching decisions that the new proposals for economic governance will have for every country within the European Union.
Once we find out what the European commission has [...]

For legal purposes, the term capacity refers to a person´s ability to make an enforceable decision for themselves, one that has legal significance. In general terms, capacity is concerned with an individual´s competence to understand the potential consequences of a personal decision as well as being able to clearly express her or his intended course [...]

The September Issue of the Socialist Voice is out now.
Download the PDF Version

Where is My Fire Engine, Thieving Gypsy Lady?!
I am can only give you a roundup of the impressive fascism-on-the-march news this week, since it have all been so busy, but you should all be inspire and motivate by seeing some of the most important people in Europe FINALLY doing some moves to promote the escape [...]

Simon Johnson and Peter Boone are writing in the New York Times‘ Econmix blog about Ireland again.
Johnson is, of course, a former Chief Economist of the IMF, an institution that has largely endorsed Ireland’s austerity measures and suggests more may be needed.
However, Johnson and Boone’s comments are that current government policy isn’t working, and this [...]

Irish society remains deeply unequal despite massive wealth creation during the Celtic tiger years.   It is estimated that a mere 5% of the population hold 40% of the wealth in Ireland.
Discrimination as experienced by women, Black and minority ethnic people  including Travellers, older people, young people, lesbian, gay and transgendered people, lone parents, carers, people [...]

I am proud to be among the many Irish and Ireland-based artists from across creative disciplines who have chosen to publicly support the growing campaign of boycott against apartheid Israel. Compared to the imprisoned Palestinian people themselves and to those taking part in flotillas and other perilous anti-apartheid activities in Palestine our contribution and risk [...]

Wall supports Brand Ireland
Following on recent calls by An Taoiseach Brian Cowen and journalist Enda O’Doherty for Irish writers to ‘do the state some service’ (and leaving aside the fact that the first man to use the expression [see footnote] committed suicide immediately afterwards), I want to say: Good Taoiseach (as Joe Higgins used to [...]