THE Tory/Liberal Democrat Westminster Government has told ministers to make plans for 40% cuts in their budgets in the harshest attack on public services and jobs since the Second World War.

The order comes from Conservative Party Chancellor George Osborne and it's not clear how its Liberal Democrat coalition partner's activists and rank and file will react to such swingeing attacks.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has told Donegal-based Highland Radio he has no immediate plans for a by-election in Donegal South-West, where Sinn Féin Senator Pearse Doherty will be challenging for the seat.

The seat has been vacant for the past year following the election of Pat the Cope Gallagher to the European Parliament.

Speaking to Highland Radio news during a visit to County... Free article

YOUNG people are twice as likely to be unemployed as older workers, according to new figures showing the 26 Counties  has one of the highest rate of youth unemployment in Europe.

The Central Statistics Office figures also show that Dublin has been the worst region for both job losses and for businesses going bust in recent months.

The news came after Ógra Shinn Féin staged a day... Free article

THE Fianna Fáil/Green Party Government’s ‘Head Shops Bill’, debated in the Dáil this afternoon, is welcome but late and does not go far enough, Sinn Féin spokesperson for Justice Aengus Ó Snodaigh has told TDs.

He said that although the ban introduced in May was better late than never, the Government had performed disgracefully by failing to act for so long.
Ó Snodaigh said:

“The... Free article

THE Orange Order should accept the reality of the situation regarding contentious parades  not wanted by local residents, play a part in the Peace Process and abandon attempts to walk down the Garvaghy Road to Drumcree, Sinn Féin MLA John O'Dowd said today.

"Such a move by the Orange Order woud be a huge step forward not only for the people of Portadown but the all the people... Free article

ANTI-FASCIST organisation Searchlight reports that former UFF leader Johnny Adair aims to seize control of the far-Right English Defence League street gangs and hooligan firms.

Adair is now living in Troon, in Scotland, after being exiled by the UDA/UFF leadership in 2003 following a power struggle within the loyalist organisation.

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AFTER a meeting with Sinn Féin on Thursday evening, Dublin City Council bosses confirmed that Seán MacDermott Street Swimming Pool will be kept open for the remainder of the year. But they have refused to guarantee the pool’s future for the longer term.

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald has criticised Labour, Fine Gael and Independent councillors who supported the city budget... Free article

TONY BLAIR has been awarded the 2010 Liberty Medal with a prize of $100,000 by the National Constitution Centre  in Philadelphia, USA, for his work towards peace in Ireland and the Middle East.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter praised Blair's "relentless pursuit of a long-elusive peace" in Ireland as British prime minister and his "dedication to the Middle East peace... Free article

IF someone said to you, there is a small group of people whose actions are designed to:
• Cause the remilitarisation of the Six Counties;
• See British troops back on our streets;
• See sectarian attacks carried out by loyalists;
• Close the democratic space now open to republicans;
• Reduce support for republican goals in Ireland and internationally;
• See an end to... Free article

Making inquiries in Derry and Gaza

THE world is about to witness the Israeli version of the Widgery Inquiry as the Israeli Government begins an investigation into the murders of nine peace activists on board aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, the Turkish peace ship bound for Gaza in an attempt to breach the illegal Israeli blockade.

The Mavi Marmara was part of a flotilla of ships... Free article