THE Dáil returned after its long Christmas recess this week to debate the dire state of the Irish economy. But the debate was a farce before it began because Taoiseach Brian Cowen refused to publish or share with the Opposition the Government's framework document which is the basis of their crisis talks with the unions and the employers. Free article

THIS week saw the publication of recommendations by the Consultative Group on the Past. The group was set up by the British Government and is co-chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames, the former Church of Ireland primate and Denis Bradley, former vice chair of the North's Policing Board. It was tasked with finding a way of dealing with the past as a means of promoting reconciliation. Free article

THE Sinn Féin commemorative evening to mark the 90th anniversary of An Chéad Dáil, held in the Mansion House on Wednesday evening 21 January - in the actual venue and on the actual anniversary of the original event - was an inspiring occasion. Free article

THE all-party Oireachtas Committee on Community, Rural and Gaelteacht Affairs has adopted the recommendations of a report written by Sinn Féin Regional Development spokesperson Senator Pearse Doherty, Awakening the West: Overcoming Social and Economic Inequality. Doherty described the development as a giant step forward for the West of Ireland and called on the Government to implement its recommendations. Free article

I WAS INVITED to go to the Philippines on behalf of Sinn Féin by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue along with Jonathan Powell, who was British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Chief of Staff for 13 years until he left office. We were asked to speak about the Peace Process in the North of Ireland and to give views from opposing ends of those talks. Free article

BOB DOYLE, who died last week in London aged 92, was a legendary figure among the Irish republicans who fought for the freedom of the Spanish Republic against Franco's fascists in the Spanish Civil War. Free article

SINN FÉIN Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald has welcomed indications from the EU that a dialogue has begun between member states' governments on the union's current policy of no engagement with Hamas. Free article