How Do We Define ‘Development’? Before examining the connections between debt and trade, it is worthwhile to reflect on what we mean when we talk about a ‘development perspective’. It is now widely accepted that economic models that are not people-centred have led us to the current global crisis of deepening poverty, degradation of rights,… Read more »

Dear Reader, On 8th October 2004 the Minister of State responsible for Overseas Development, Conor Lenihan TD, was quoted in Irish newspapers as saying that ‘there has to be an element of realism’ regarding Ireland’s commitment for achieving the UN target for overseas development aid by 2007, given that ‘we’ve had two years of retrenchment… Read more »

1. Morris Tribunal Report The Morris Tribunal’s Report into corruption involving some Gardai in Donegal (1) has major implications for the Garda Síochána generally. The Report calls for radical reform of the structures within the Gardai, structures which have remained essentially unchanged since the foundation of the State and which are clearly in need of… Read more »

Recent months have seen the publication of two important reports on alcohol in Irish society – the Report on Alcohol Misuse by Young People, issued by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children in June 2004, and the Second Report of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol, which was published in September. (1) These… Read more »

In this issue of Working Notes we examine the report on Private Property of the All- Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution Property, published in April 2004. The Report followed a request from the Taoiseach in February 2000 to “consider the present constitutional provisions in respect of property rights and specifically the necessity for up-dating those provisions which pertain to planning controls and infrastructural development”.

In April 2004, the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution published its Ninth Progress Report.(1) The Report discusses whether the provisions of the Irish Constitution concerning property rights obstruct social justice and the common good in the area of land and housing, with regard to purchase, planning and infrastructural development. The opening lines of chapter… Read more »

Introduction The recommendations of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution on the right to private property and its relationship with the requirements of the greater social good, take on particular significance when seen in the context of Ireland’s recent unprecedented demand for housing and infrastructural development, arising from nearly a decade of high levels… Read more »

Introduction One of the most ideologically and economically sensitive elements in any state is the legal and constitutional regime governing the ownership of private property. The regulation, taxation and expropriation of property raise fundamental questions of justice, equity, the right to shelter, the balance between individual rights and the common good. All these matters are… Read more »

Christmas is a time for home coming. In many different parts of the world people make enormous efforts, and travel long distances, to spend Christmas-time with their families, even if only for a few days. 

Amidst the hustle and bustle of Christmas many people find themselves drawing breath now and again and wondering what it is all about. On the one hand, there is the exhilaration of the ‘season of goodwill’, the decorations and seasonal music to brighten all our lives, the getting together with friends or colleagues or family,… Read more »