What has happened to a once proud country?

Fergus Finlay makes a compelling argument for a Yes vote in the Fiscal Treaty referendum.

Your columnist and austerity treaty proponent Fergus Finlay attacked Sinn Féin (May 1) for highlighting the fact that alternative sources of funding will be available to Ireland should its citizens reject the treaty, particularly for its claim that the IMF will be one such source.

The Teen Parents Support Programme is horrified at the attitude to, and treatment of, a young mother by a Tipperary secondary school.

So, the Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin takes issue with the public service unions over some allowances which he contends are not part of the core pay and will be subject to review, (Howlin: Public service workers will see some perks stopped, Irish Examiner, Apr 26).

The complaint by Florence Craven about ‘the Government’s addiction to safety nets’ (Letters, May 1) is ironical.

The recognition by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation of the lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers group provides a stark contrast with the attitudes which formerly prevailed, as the following anecdote will illustrate.

The unchristian actions and attitude of the lay principal of a so-called Catholic-ethos school in refusing admission to his school of a teenage mother beggars belief.

We welcome the Oireachtas Justice Committee initiative under Deputy David Stanton to hear from interested parties on legal capacity prior to publication of this important bill.

RTE’s Joe Little reported that a few hundred people attended the recent We Are Church protest outside the residence of the Papal Nuncio in Dublin.