Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan is reportedly hoping to discuss with Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan a requirement for immigrants to demonstrate that they have an adequate command of the English language before they can renew a work permit.

IT WAS not quite a Barack Obama moment but when, almost a quarter of a century ago, Des O’Malley, Mary Harney, Michael McDowell, Bobby Molloy and others established the Progressive Democrats they gave rise to a huge sense of relief and optimism among a considerable number of people.

THE 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month resonates across the decades like few other descriptions of a moment in time.

The seizure of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine off the south-west coast in the early hours of yesterday morning was the largest drugs shipment ever intercepted by Irish authorities.

The announcement by Health Minister Mary Harney that the Health Service Executive is backing out of the planned pre-emptive vaccination programme for 12-year-old girls against the virus that causes cervical cancer has provoked a predictable storm.

The latest seasonally adjusted figure for the live register of unemployed, published by the Central Statistics Office, jumped by 15,800 in October.

In THE midst of the enormous interest in the presidential election in the United States, the Government here made some momentous announcements that were obviously intended to be lost in the glare of the historic international developments.

THE children’s charity Barnardos yesterday reported that the Celtic tiger boom years did little enough to reduce persistently high rates of child poverty.

IF THE claim by the country’s largest trade union that employers are being tipped off about Health and Safety Authority inspections is true then those responsible must be identified and removed from the process.

THE principle of following the money trail has been one of the cornerstones of criminal investigations for many years. The principle of seizing criminals’ assets is a much more recent but nonetheless effective innovation.