A specialist unit dealing with sex crimes in Cork city hasn't been able to take on any new investigations since the end of last year because of a shortage of trained personnel.

Gardaí, furious at being excluded from the Criminal Justice Victims of Crime Act enacted last November, claim they are being treated like second-class citizens.

Seven gardaí took their own lives in the past year and a survey shows around one in six gardaí have exhibited signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Better supports are needed to help frontline gardaí who are increasingly suffering from mental health problems brought on by a growing number of assaults on them and the rising pressures of the job.

A senior investigator for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) has described the loss of evidence collected during the investigation into the murder of Garda Dick Fallon as “wholly unacceptable”.

As a son of someone killed in the Troubles, and as a psychotherapist, I offer my thoughts on ‘historical crimes’.

THE recent debate about a “truth recovery process” in Northern Ireland to address the perceived need for a calling to account of the events of the Troubles is to be welcomed as part of the advance of reconciliation on this island.

THE announcement by Social and Family Affairs Minister Martin Cullen of efforts to help lone parents get into the workforce is a welcome attempt to break the cycle of poverty that affects thousands of children.

THE apology of Gerry Adams to the family of Tim Parry is a welcome step towards reconciliation and lasting peace in these islands.

President of Ireland Mary McAleese today led condemnation of the shooting of an unarmed Garda officer in the centre of Dublin.

Garda Fallon’s family and the public have been denied access to the files on his murder.

A senior Garda union today backed calls for an independent public inquiry into the murder of the first officer to die in the Republic during the Troubles.

Martin Fallon has a right to feel aggrieved.

THE Irish Examiner published an article by Senan Hogan under the heading “Garda’s widow backs inquiry into first officer killed in Troubles” (January 6).

FOREIGN Minister Dermot Ahern and MEP Proinsias de Rossa had a radio confrontation about extraordinary rendition during the week. To say they were arguing like a couple of fishwives would be an insult to women.

THE son of the first garda to be killed in the Troubles has expressed frustration following a meeting with a veteran republican linked to the gang that killed his father.

SOME weeks ago I wrote about a persistent rumour that the gardaí involved in the raid on Judge Brian Curtin's home had actually checked with the relevant authorities beforehand and were told to go ahead with a flawed search warrant.

AS a representative of the surviving children of Garda Richard Fallon, who was murdered on Arran Quay on April 3 1970, I am delighted to see that a commission of investigation is to be established by the Government.