Former minister Mary Hanafin considers herself indispensable to Fianna Fáil and the people of Dun Laoghaire although a non-resident.

I agree with Brian McDevitt that group chairman Brian Kerr’s salary is too much for his work in Rehab.

Concern has been raised about the condition of trees along one of the main routes into Killarney, Co Kerry.

Some of the excess and greed shown by charity chiefs inevitably provoked public outrage.

Gardaí believe the public hold vital information on last week’s double murder in Kerry, writes Donal Hickey

A double murder investigation is expected to be launched in Killorglin, Co Kerry today, following the grim discovery of the bodies of a young mother and her daughter in a house in the town on Sunday night.

The Government has announced it is cutting the exceptional needs payments for religious ceremonies.

Food giant Kellogg’s has stepped in to secure the future of several breakfast clubs in Irish schools.

You could call it a recipe for success.

It is an indictment of our Government, our public services, and all of us in this society too, that four organisations, frustrated by how difficult it is to make progress through official channels, have had to come together to rent private accommodation to provide shelter for the growing number people forced to live — and occasionally die — on our streets.

A St Vincent de Paul Society in a provincial town has witnessed a 40% rise in demand for its service.

It is thought that Education Minister Ruairi Quinn may propose the introduction of a State-backed student loan scheme or a graduate tax when he outlines his vision for higher education reform this morning.

Church gate collections are up 11% on last year, the St Vincent de Paul Society in Cork said, but calls are up by 30%.

At first glance there is something reassuring about the announcement from the St Vincent de Paul Society in Cork that donations made at church gate collections have increased by 11% since last year.

PEOPLE in Killarney are being asked to dig deep to ensure an annual Christmas Toy and Book Appeal is a success, despite the recession.

IF I TELL the truth about being a judge for this weekend’s People of the Year Awards, they’ll never invite me again.

WE all know Charles Edward Trevelyan, created a Baronet in 1874 for his services to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

HARD-UP families are seeking help from the St Vincent de Paul Society to buy schoolbooks.

Budgets are tight and bonuses are scarce but this hasn’t stopped Irish companies from getting into the festive spirit for charity. Niamh Hennessy takes a look at what firms did for charity this Christmas.

THE idea of a national government was yesterday welcomed by the Bishop of Kerry, Dr Bill Murphy, who said it might help “to get us out of the mess we’re in”.

I’M tempted to ring the Labour party and leave them a message.

The St Vincent de Paul Society has launched its annual appeal for direct financial help in the run-up to Christmas.

Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith today witnessed first hand the devastating impact of the recent floods on farmers in Co Galway.

Many people faced with exceptional family events, down on their luck, or in dire need of money, feel that they have no choice but to borrow from moneylenders, loan sharks, or even use credit cards, because they cannot get the money through normal lending agencies.

LICENSED moneylenders charging exploitative rates of interest and preying on vulnerable people are not properly regulated by the State, it has been claimed.

AS a so-called absent father, I was disappointed to read your report headlined ‘State must make absent fathers pay, says SVP’ (December 27), as it contained a number of gender-biased assumptions that are unsubstantiated by the UCD study of young single mothers to which you refer.

THERE has been a shadow hanging over this Christmas unlike any seen for many, many years.

MONEY LENDERS are knocking on doors with cash in their hands preying on people desperate for cash in the run-up to Christmas.

THOUSANDS of primary schoolchildren with special needs are being denied vital treatment because of Government delays in providing psychological assessments.

A COUPLE of years ago, I was asked to deputise for Santa Claus in one of our projects at Barnardos. Santa himself was having a particularly busy time and although he had promised he would visit each child personally on Christmas eve, he just wasn’t going to be able to make their Christmas party on time.

‘Two or three decades of formidable theatrical achievement is more evanescent than the froth on a cappuccino: half-remembered moments in the memories of committed older theatre-goers, but no contemporary currency at all.’

The St Vincent de Paul society is launching a major appeal for funds today after it struggled to respond to 300,000 calls for assistance last year.

A CRACKDOWN on legal credit loans sharks charging customers excessively high interest rates was signalled last night by social and family affairs minister Seamus Brennan.

It may not apply across a broad media front. It may not even apply right across the Irish Examiner’s front. A lowly columnist cannot be held responsible for what news editors and leader writers decide.

THE St Vincent de Paul Society last night warned that increases in welfare benefits would do little to help families meet the cost of fuel bills, after steep rises in the price of both electricity and gas.

MASSIVE hikes in gas and electricity prices are forcing the St Vincent de Paul Society to spend millions of euro supporting needy families who cannot afford to meet soaring bills.

THE president of the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP), Prof John Monaghan, says 60,000 social housing units are needed (Irish Examiner, May 29).

THE most surprising statistic of the last few days, for my money, came from the priests of St Teresa’s Church, Clarendon Street, in Dublin.

Poverty will continue to cause misery in society for the next quarter of a century unless the Government radically alters its policies, it was warned today.

THE minister of state at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Conor Lenihan, in the recent debate on overseas development assistance, questioned international organisations spending money on advocacy.

It is an unpalatable fact that in a time of economic boom, voluntary organisations, which lift a considerable burden from the State’s shoulders by way of providing vital services, are all too often the victims of that healthy economy.

IF Gianna Beretta Molla were alive today, she would be 82 years old. But she’s not, having chosen to perform a rare act of heroism.

The announcement of a new grant to give elderly people access to mobile phones has been welcomed by the St Vincent de Paul Society.

According to the latest survey from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), the number of people below the poverty line in this country continues to rise.