The Garda Ombudsman should be empowered to investigate poor standards of policing, inspect Garda stations uninhibited, and commence its own inquiries.

The Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission are looking to take part in a Supreme Court appeal against a landmark surrogacy ruling.

There was a mixed reaction among Magdalene Laundry survivors and representative groups to the recommendations in the Quirke Report.

A commission of inquiry into State involvement in the Magdalene Laundries should still be established by the Government because the focus of the McAleese report was too narrow, a leading human rights group has claimed.

Comprehensive compensation is needed for survivors of Magdalene laundries including unpaid wages and pensions and rehab for forced labour, a watchdog has claimed.

Three men and a police officer have been stabbed at a mosque in Birmingham, England, West Midlands Police have said.

Advocacy experts have warned that slashing funding to interest groups could damage society and said many in the sector believed their funding was at risk if they were too critical of Government departments and State agencies.

Many believe that it was the Government decision to make Senator Martin McAleese chairman of the interdepartmental group that brought the religious orders on board.

The State’s human rights watchdog wants the Government to row back on plans for mandatory vetting of all people working with children and vulnerable adults.

The Irish Human Rights Commission has expressed concern about its future independence under controversial plans by the Government to merge the organisation with the Equality Authority.

The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has today welcomed a new report by a Government working group on its merger with the Equality Authority.

The Government will again appear before the United Nations' Human Rights Council today.

An Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality will hear presentations on the proposed mental capacity legislation today.

THE Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has written to the Medical Council, requesting thatpatients are informed that certain anti-depressants can cause suicidal thoughts as a potential side effect.

TELLING employers that a potential employee may pose a risk to children, even though he has not been convicted of any such crime, may be in breach of the Constitution.

JUSTICE Minister Alan Shatter will today be cross-examined on Ireland’s human rights obligations — civil, political, economic, social and cultural — at a hearing which is the first of its kind for this country.

THE Irish Human Rights Commission has urged the Government to introduce a national action plan to improve human rights in this country.

MUCH is being made — properly so — of the abuse of human rights of the mothers, children and orphans who were incarcerated in Magdalene homes run by the churches and facilitated by the State.

JUSTICE Minister Alan Shatter is under pressure to announce an inquiry into the detention and abuse of women at the Magdalene Laundries after the UN criticised the state’s failure to protect the women and called for a thorough investigation and compensation scheme.

A support group for survivors of the Magdalene Laundries has demanded a state apology after an international torture watchdog recommended a statutory inquiry.

EVERY woman TD, senator and local councillor received a letter today urging them to support the ongoing campaign to seek justice for survivors of the Magdalene laundries.

ONE interesting recommendation in the new report of the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) on education is that of having “religion classes in church-run schools confined to the beginning or the end of the day”.

A REPORT by the Irish Human Rights Commission has said changes in the law are needed to protect the rights of children of no or minority faith in denominational Irish schools.

The authors of a new report on religion and education say the State is not in a position to immediately begin providing education that allows for diverse religious beliefs.

AN independent United Nations expert has warned funding cuts to human rights bodies is substantially reducing Ireland’s capacity to protect the vulnerable in society.

A REPORT prepared by the HSE detailing how many young mothers were transferred from state-run mother-and-baby homes to unregulated Magdalene laundries has been handed over to the Department of Health.

JUSTICE for Magdalenes (JFM), the advocacy group calling for a redress system for survivors of Magdalene laundries, has stepped up its campaign as the Justice Minister makes a decision on the issue in the coming weeks.

THE independent police watchdog should be able to examine Garda practices and policies without having to get the permission of the Justice Minister, according to the state’s human rights body.

Drastic funding cuts to human rights groups will have a long-term effect on equality for Ireland’s most vulnerable people, it was claimed today.

IRELAND must “immediately” end slopping out in prisons and make an “unconditional commitment” to move people with intellectual disabilities out of psychiatric institutions, the country’s official human rights body has said.

THREE months ago, the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) published its assessment of abuses in the Magdalene laundries.

A CARE centre for the intellectually disabled where chronic under-funding led to human rights violations has suffered even more cutbacks since its shortcomings were highlighted.

Ireland’s record on eliminating racial discrimination was criticised by the human rights watchdog today.

THE Government has been heavily criticised for how this country treats asylum seekers, member of the Traveller community, migrant workers and their families — and for not tackling racism adequately.

The Magdalene laundry women have been boosted by a report from the Irish Human Rights Commission that calls for a statutory inquiry into the institutions, writes Claire O’Sullivan.

THE Government has asked the Attorney General to examine a groundbreaking report by the state’s human rights watchdog which calls for a statutory enquiry into the Magdalene Laundries.

The Government must launch an official inquiry into the treatment of women and girls detained in so-called Magdalene Laundries, it was ruled today.

The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has today called on the Government to hold an immediate statutory inquiry into the treatment of women and children in the Magdalene laundries.

The Irish Human Rights Commission will today publish its assessment of human rights issues brought about by Magdalene Laundries in Ireland.

INTEGRATION Minister Mary White has indicated she intends to push for the reversal of savage cuts made to equality and rights bodies last year and increase their funding.

Green Junior Minister Mary White has said the new Thornton Hall prison should see an end to the practice of slopping out in prisons.

THE JUSTICE for Magdalenes group (JFM) has asked the Irish Human Rights Commission to conduct an inquiry into the state’s refusal to acknowledge their role in the laundries.

GREATER human rights protections are needed in the Government’s legislation to establish a DNA database for use by gardaí, an Oireachtas Committee has heard.

Former US president Bill Clinton will co-chair a committee overseeing at least £2.5bn (€2.8bn) in post-quake aid to Haiti.