- NEWS
Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
- WORLD
Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
How Star Trek predicted the futureWHEN Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first dreamed up the concept of a television show based in the unexplored universe of Outer Space in 1964, the world was a very different place.
- BUSINESS
Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
- SPORT
Mayo’s statement of intentGalway 0-11 Mayo 4-16 Five minutes to go in Salthill yesterday and James Horan was still cajoling his men to sew it into Galway.
Wilkinson inspires Toulon to gloryASM Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16 Not for the first time this season, a matchday performance and the result have made a mockery of the statistics.
- LIFESTYLE
What Lenny Abrahamson did nextLENNY Abrahamson has directed three feature films: Adam & Paul, Garage and What Richard Did.
Why do women love to dress up?Trying on clothes, said Ewart, produced "sensations which bring deep peace and perfect contentment" to the female mind.
15-18C
Breaking stories
Hayes: Government may settle for less than €300m target in pay talks
Number of abuse allegations against Catholic church increasing
Gardaí accessing PULSE system inappropriately, data protection office says- Male, 63, dies at scene of Belfast flat fire
'Psychiatrists won't be fooled by women claiming to be suicidal'
Senator to swap lives with single mother
By Louise Roseingrave
A politician plans to swap lives with a single mother, trading seven days in the Seanad for a week in her shoes.
Labour Senator John Gilroy, from Glanmire, Cork, has agreed to trade places with Tramore-based Andrea Galgey.
She issued the challenge to TDs on the Labour Party’s Facebook page and says it “snowballed” from there.
“The idea came from a discussion with the campaign group, we thought wouldn’t it be interesting if a politician spent a week in our shoes?” she said.
The idea garnered little interest until Sen Gilroy asked if a senator would be “any good?”
Ms Galgey reckons he is in for a tough time.
“I get up at 7am, get the kids ready for school, make lunches, make sure they have everything for activities and plan for what’s happening after school, as some days I am at work. In the evening, I cook dinner, help with homework then it’s activities and bedtime for them. Then I sit down and do my voluntary work on the computer. There is no time for me. I get tired, it’s hard. But you have to do these things for your kids’ future. If I don’t do it who’s going to do it for me?”
Gilroy, a former psychiatric nurse, lives with his wife and two children in Glanmire.
“He is in for a very harsh landing. He may work long hours but he has back-up at home to facilitate that, whereas I have to do everything myself,” said Ms Galgey.
The financial divide between a senator’s salary and the purse strings of a working mum should drive the message home, she said.
“Even though I’m working part time I’m finding it really hard. But obviously the senators and TDs are not feeling the pinch, so I’d love to see him survive that.”
On the flip side, depending on the freedom Ms Galgey is afforded if the experiment goes ahead, it could give valuable insight into everyday lives of politicians in the Senate.