Traveller groups have described the decision to accommodate the survivors of the Carrickmines tragedy in a carpark as a “sad indictment of our society” and said once again Travellers’ rights were second to the demands of the majority population.

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Equality Minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has criticised people protesting against emergency accommodation for Traveller families caught up in the Carrickmines blaze, saying their views “remind me of Alabama in the 1950s”.

The Government has used its final budget to woo young parents, who were among the worst hit by the economic crash.

No mention of child protection in budget statements a concern

The Government has rejected Sinn Féin plans for an annual public holiday starting next year to mark the 1916 Rising, despite opposition claims coalition advisers backed the move two years ago.

The head of the Government’s strategy to find jobs for people with disabilities has insisted the Coalition plan will create real jobs and not lead to a return to vulnerable people being “taken advantage of” by unscrupulous employers.

The ban on gay men giving blood should be lifted, Equality Minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said.

ON THURSDAY evening, as he talked of “leadership” and how Ireland will accept “thousands [of migrants] over the coming months and years”, Environment Minister Alan Kelly was asked why it had taken a heartbreaking picture of a three-year-old boy lying dead on a beach for Government to act.

DESPITE a welcome shift in attitude on the refugee crisis at political level across Europe and in this country, it is demonstrably clear that Ireland is ill-prepared to cope with an influx of refugees from Middle East war zones and Africa seeking asylum here. Were it not for the compassion shown by German chancellor Angela Merkel, who has convinced Germany to take in as many as 800,000 Syrian refugees this year, it is doubtful other EU leaders would have budged.

Tánaiste Joan Burton has strongly suggested Ireland will take in more migrants than planned due to the escalating situation in the Mediterranean. This contradicts Fine Gael’s position.

Ireland has been urged to take in “several thousand” people fleeing across the Mediterranean to Europe amid growing calls for urgent EU talks to address the escalating migrant crisis.

Phil Hogan’s handling of Irish Water has been strongly criticised by a Labour minister who attacked the former Fine Gael minister for “threatening people” over the charges.

Boys of all ages who clearly identify themselves as being of a different gender than their actual sex should be allowed to enrol in girls’ schools, and vice versa, under changes to a new law being sought by children’s rights’ groups.

The vote to enshrine gay marriage in the constitution has been heralded as a new era with tears and joy.

Civil partnership does not go far enough in fully recognising the love of gay and lesbian people, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said.

A group which says people can change their sexuality through counselling and “conversion therapy” is set to hold a public meeting on the same-sex marriage referendum today, after claiming the national debate is mired in political “bias”.

Irish sports stars have lined out in favour of the marriage equality yes campaign, saying a change in the law will tell young fans: “It’s OK to be who you are.”

Justice For Magdalenes Research (JFMR) has hit back at Government claims that it is issuing “factually incorrect” statements on the implementation of the Magdalene redress scheme.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has come under fire from a Government minister for using Irish to exclude an opposition TD from debate in the Dáil.

Long stays in direct provision centres can hamper the ability of refugees to fully integrate into Irish society.

Same-sex couples could benefit after Labour vowed to introduce two weeks’ paid paternity leave for fathers this year.

Labour delegates have defied the party leadership and insisted young unemployed people should have their full jobseeker benefits restored after controversial cuts were imposed by the coalition.

Anti-water charge demonstrators prevented two ministers from leaving a school as protest against the levy continued.

A major conference this week will assess 20 years of progress towards equality for women in Ireland and investigate how much more needs to be done.

A gay teacher in a Catholic school has hidden her identity in a video for a wedding competition as her sexual orientation may cost her her job.

Fathers could be in line for two weeks paid paternity leave.

Fathers could be in line for two weeks paid paternity leave, Equality Minister Aodhan O’Riordain has stated.

A Fine Gael councillor has been forced to apologise after tweeting his dismay at the demise of The Sun newspaper’s Page 3 feature with disparaging remarks about people who object to the use of topless models to sell newspapers.

Staff at the Department of Social Protection (DSP) have been rude, racist and used abusive language when dealing with migrants, a new report shows.

A "blame game" storm has erupted in the Coalition after a Labour minister said Fine Gael was responsible for all the Government’s mistakes of the past year.

The Cabinet has signed off on a plan to hold a referendum to remove the offence of blasphemy from the constitution.

Asylum seekers can expect a maximum six-month turnaround in their applications to stay in Ireland from next spring, a junior minister has said.

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.

A few things that need to be put to bed about the McAleese Report and the Taoiseach’s refusal to issue an apology to the women incarcerated in the Magdalene Laundries.

MAGDALENE Laundry survivors have welcomed the setting up of a committee to probe the depth of the state’s role in the workhouses but criticised the Government for failing to immediately apologise to former female residents.

AS Cork’s Lord Mayor Michael O’Connell sees it, the city’s celebrated marytrs, Tomás McCurtain and Terence McSweeney, would have been proud.

THE number of people living in enforced deprivation surged by more than 25% between 2008 and 2009, according to new figures.

The Government was tonight accused of plunging more people below the breadline as figures showed one in 10 households borrowed to meet ordinary living expenses.

Fathers have no rights in relation to their children because the law has not kept up with the modern Irish family, campaigners said today.

The Equality Minister Mary White has said the Government will do all it can to improve maternity leave for Irish women.

A NEW law allowing abortion without restrictions in Spain in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy has come into effect despite an opposition party court challenge claiming it is unconstitutional.