The Wheel, a resource organisation for charities and voluntary groups, described Section 38 agencies to me as “arms of the State in all but governance”. But shouldn’t all arms of the State be headed by the State? Isn’t governance all important?

HOMELESS people, nursing home residents and terminally ill patients will all be subject to the Government prescription levy which will apply from tomorrow.

Thirty-eight organisations including Barnardos, Amnesty, and the Vincent de Paul have come together to seek urgent reform of the mental health system for children.

DESPITE the economic downturn Irish firms continued to show their charitable sides this Christmas.

CELTIC Tiger Ireland spawned a new class.

THE State’s systematic shaving of resources intended for people on the margins of society is graphically illustrated by news that the country’s biggest charity is propping up a vital arm of the education system.

LIKE many who had been away for a couple of weeks in August I returned from my holidays bemused as to what all the fuss was about Eddie Hobbs and his Rip Off Republic TV series.

SOCIAL and Family Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan will attempt to silence his critics today when he invites 30 voluntary and community groups to tell him what they want him to do in the upcoming Budget.