The decision of Fingal County Council officials to hire a photographer and have the photos taken of the 24 newly elected or re-elected Fingal County Councillors last year and then have the photos subsequently printed and framed at a cost of €9,471 is an indefensible extravagance in which the councillors themselves were entirely unwitting participants.
Yesterday's interview on RTE Radio One News reveals that Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore, believes that the most crucial issue in the forthcoming General Election is the number of seats Labour will win relative to Fine Gael and therefore whether he or Deputy Kenny will be Taoiseach. Nothing in any of the recent interviews he has given indicate that Labour offer any alternative to the cutback consensus.
There is a hidden history to the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. That is the role played by the organised workers’ movement in opposing sectarian violence.