We take a trip down memory lane and check out what happened on this day in years gone by.

Conor O’Mahony of University College Cork has been appointed as the new Special Rapporteur on Child Protection.

I have wanted to write this article since I was a few hours into the care of my 18-year-old and the penny dropped with an almighty clang that caring for him was the hardest work I’d ever done.

How can that elusive balance be achieved with a sort of random selection? Yet how can it not be done that way either? ask Alison O’Connor

Adverserial politics should be replaced by European model of multi-member coalitions and oppositions that contribute to policy, say Muiris MacCarthaigh and Mary C Murphy.

The circumstances of a baby’s birth should have absolutely nothing to do with its human rights, writes Victoria White

The Taoiseach is expected to seek Cabinet approval tomorrow for a move which would see the Ceann Comhairle elected by secret ballot in the next Dáil.

In 2013 almost 12% of Irish children were living in consistent poverty, writes Alison O’Connor

Tender, a novel about being a gay man in unwelcoming 1970s Ireland, was published just after the marriage equality amendment was passed. That was purely coincidental, Belinda McKeon assures Caroline O’Doherty.

The Catholic Church hierarchy here has said it will no longer carry out the civil elements of weddings if marriage is extended to gay couples.

Sinn Féin will scrap property and water charges, while bringing in a new wealth tax if it can form a government next year, party leader Gerry Adams told its annual conference in Derry.

A Cabinet Minister has today denied that plans to give the vote to 16-year-olds have been delayed for reasons of electoral strategy.

Ó Ríordáin ‘expects’ referendum on blasphemy this year

Enda Kenny has signalled there will be no referendum on reducing the voting age during the lifetime of this Government.

Ministers will discuss the same-sex marriage referendum at this morning’s Cabinet meeting.

The Cabinet will be looking to move past tensions over the Seanad cronyism row when it meets again this morning.

On the immediate appointment of the new Irish minister for the diaspora, I wrote to Jimmy Deenihan TD asking him what he would be doing with the recommendation of the Constitutional Convention on extending votes to Irish citizens abroad in future presidential elections?

THE best way for us to sort the issue of abortion in Ireland is to take politicians out of the decision making process.

Advocates of same-sex marriage will take to the streets of Dublin today.

A Cabinet minister has weighed in behind calls for a public forum to debate changes to abortion legislation following the case of a raped teenager who was denied a termination.

Pressure is growing on the Coalition to pave the way for a referendum on whether the constitutional ban on abortion should be lifted or not.

VOTERS face between three and six referenda in the first half of 2015. They will be asked to decide on lowering the voting age to 16, lowering the age threshold for candidates for the presidency from 35, and to decide on marriage equality.

Joan Burton has called for the Constitution to be reviewed every five years ahead of a series of referendums scheduled to take place next year.

Former Leinster House staff should have their Dáil passes taken away to avoid “fly-by-night” lobbying, according to an academic who advised the Government on a bill due to be published shortly.

The newest TD in the Dáil has called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 for all elections and for politics to be taught in the school curriculum so young people take a greater interest in it.

The Constitutional Convention has made a number of recommendations on political reform including enhancing the position of the Ceann Comhairle to give it more status.

The public will be asked to give its thoughts on potential options for reforming the Dáil.

THIS year marks the 40th anniversary of our membership of the EU. The canvass of Ireland’s experience within the European integration process is a dramatic one, a story of successes and failures and plenty of twists and turns.

The Cabinet is expected to agree today to hold a referendum on same-sex marriage.

The Government’s proposed abolition of town councils is bordering on dictatorship, according to the mayor of one town which could lose its local council.

The Constitutional Convention has recommended that the offence of blasphemy be removed from the constitution.

The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, said he will outline his position on gay marriage on Tuesday, when the Cabinet will decide the date for a referendum on the issue.

The Constitutional Convention is embarking on a nationwide tour of public meetings.

There are fresh calls for a referendum on abortion, with a new campaign group urging a repeal of the eighth amendment giving an equal right to the life of a pregnant woman and the unborn child.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he is anxious to see the Seanad become an effective watchdog to hold the Government to account.

Pro-choice groups have launched a campaign calling for a referendum to change limited laws on abortion.

The Government will consider referring the future role of the Seanad to the Convention on the Constitution after the electorate decided in a referendum to retain the upper house.

The Taoiseach said he was "naturally, personally disappointed" by the defeat of the referendum to abolish the Seanad, as attention now turns to the need for political reform.

Last weekend, the Constitutional Convention received submissions on extending the right to vote to the Irish abroad.

ABOLISH the Seanad and shut down the best chance we have of making politics truly representative. A reformed Seanad could offer a door to public office for the dark side of the moon of Irish life: the people who don’t have jobs.

Up to 3m Irish passport holders living abroad could have the right to vote in the next presidential election if proposals approved yesterday by the Convention on the Constitution are accepted by Government and approved in a referendum.

A powerful forum gathers today for talks which could pave the way for extending the vote in presidential elections to Irish citizens living in the North and overseas.

When Labour senator John Whelan, who is supporting a no vote in the Seanad referendum, was asked (Morning Ireland, Sept 11) if he was not acting against his party he replied no, Labour’s “original intention’’ was to refer the question of abolition to the Constitutional Convention.

Sinn Féin has denied flip- flopping on Seanad abolition as the party prepares to distribute 500,000 leaflets urging voters to sweep away the upper house.

Sinn Féin has launched its campaign in favour of scrapping the Seanad.

After initial criticism, the convention chaired by Tom Arnold has seen interest grow as its January deadline looms.

The Government has been given four months to decide whether to hold a referendum on overhauling its voting system.

The government has been officially advised to change Ireland's election laws to allow for bigger constituencies.

IMAGINE this. It’s late some foggy Tuesday evening, you’re driving home, you’ve been working late and — despite heavy caffeine intake — you know that you’re nowhere near as alert or together as you’d like to be.