The Government’s list of scandals and crises continues to grow, but the citizens are seemingly incapable of getting mad, writes R. P. O’Donnell.

The CervicalCheck scandal has contributed to a dramatic increase in costly medical negligence cases being taken against the State in the first half of this year.

It is June 6, 1969, and Spain is living through the final years of Franco’s dictatorship. At a clinic in Madrid, a woman gives birth to a baby girl she will never see again, writes Federico López-Terra.

Last Thursday morning, as we shoved empty cereal bowls into dishwashers, packed kids into cars, and trudged head-first into our daily commute, a single voice stopped this nation in its tracks, writes Joyce Feegan.

As is often the case, Oscar Wilde offers a phrase that, if not perfect, is neatly applicable. His line, “to lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness” is relevant.

INCONSISTENCY in principle, practice, or legislation can be mystifying. Without consistency, uncertainty prevails. Without consistency, especially in how laws are framed and implemented, something entirely unacceptable in one situation is tolerable in another even if the same principles are in play.

The numbers involved in the tracker mortgage scandal will rise further and the banks must “now come clean” as to its full extent, says John McGuinness, chairman of the Oireachtas Finance Committee.

In July 2015, the following was the official line to be conveyed to the media by the minister for justice about the status of Sgt Maurice McCabe.

The breath test scandal has been “swept under the carpet”, according to a road safety lobby group.

Everybody is rushing to stand at McCabe’s shoulder. There is no risk now, writes Michael Clifford

The complexity of the McCabe saga is mind-boggling indeed. We are dealing with a conscientious public servant who dared to put his head about the parapet and highlight dubious practices within the Garda force.

IT is essential that cabinet members are credible when they speak in the Dáil but the level of dishonesty and scandal uncovered in An Garda Síochana is so startling that resolving those issues must almost take precedence over any other issue in that sphere. 

At this stage, our national response to a new white-collar crime scandal is as formalised as any Kabuki masterwork.

The Independent Alliance (IA) sought this week to have the assets of the banks frozen and their banking licences revoked over the tracker mortgage scandal, only to be rebuked strongly by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, the Irish Examiner can confirm.

Former junior finance minister Brian Hayes has asked the EU to investigate if Irish banks operated a “cartel” in the tracker mortgage scandal and if they collaborated in ripping off thousands of customers.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has been accused of “being played for a fool” after his solution to the mortgage tracker rip-off scandal has been declared a “charade”.

Once all the anger was vented, we were left with very little, writes Daniel McConnell.

A financial adviser who has assisted customers who were taken off tracker mortgages has said the banks’ statements on the scandal have been “more of the same”.

Bank chiefs are facing the threat of tougher levies or even fines if they fail to set out how and when customers ripped off by the tracker mortgage scandal will be properly repaid and compensated.

A district court judge has likened the tracker mortgage scandal to “bank robberies” and revealed that he, too, was overcharged by his bank to the tune of €17,000.

There is an urgent need to defend and vindicate the rights of our citizens against a small number of corporations which at this stage are quite clearly out of control, writes James McNulty.

An advocacy group for people who lost their homes as a result of the tracker mortgage scandal will take “aggressive” action against banks.

The tracker mortgage scandal will, “without a shadow of a doubt”, affect more than 30,000 customers before the authorities get to grips with the matter, far higher than the 15,000 currently estimated by the Central Bank.

Business Reporter Pádraig Hoare talks to four people whose lives have been irreparably harmed by the mortgage scandal.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said he wants “all the skeletons” out of the Garda cupboards.

Acting Commissioner Donal Ó Cualáin has called on frontline members who claim they were pressurised by managers into faking breath test figures to “give names” of those responsible.

The HSE and gardaí have been ordered to release key reports into the Grace foster abuse scandal and the re-opening of Stepaside garda station by tonight amid claims they are deliberately blocking investigations.

LAST weekend Labour leader Brendan Howlin suggested water charge refunds be deferred so the money might be used to get the, as is usual, over-budget HSE through the winter. 

The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) has rubbished reports that they are going to initiate a process to have Pat Hickey removed from his role with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The OCI is on a journey to try and re-establish its credibility after the Rio tickets scandal, writes Daniel McConnell.

A Volkswagen engineer who had a key role in the diesel emissions scandal has been sentenced to more than three years in prison and a 200,000 dollar (£155,000) fine, a steeper punishment than prosecutors had requested.

The HSE has been heavily criticised by junior health minister Finian McGrath for its role in the Grace case, and for delaying the setting up of a commission of inquiry into the abuse scandal.

The Government report into the Rio Olympics ticket- touting scandal may leave some questions unanswered.

Health Minister Simon Harris is scrambling to address concerns the commission of investigation into the Grace foster abuse scandal cannot cover the victim’s legal fees because of a blind spot in existing laws.

A HSE-commissioned report into claims that officials drained resources from the Grace sex abuse whistleblowers will not be published until at least the end of August — five months after its initial deadline.