CHILD WELFARE groups and victims of institutional abuse have given the Irish Government's plan to implement the recommendations of the Ryan Report a qualified welcome. Much of the plan's content are long overdue. Although it states there will be increased funding and staffing for social care services, these must be adequately resourced. Increases in funding are only token gestures if they are not adequate to meet the requirements of services. Free article

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has refused to intervene in Permanent TSB's decision to hike up interest rates on mortgage holders, thus negating the recent European Central Bank reductions. The minister's comment that the increase reflects commercial market realities is breathtakingly arrogant and illustrates magnificently in whose interests his decisions are made. Lenihan has mooted a possible reduction in the minimum wage and his government is actively considering reducing social welfare payments, as recommended by the McCarthy Report. At every turn this government is attacking the low-paid and the vulnerable and doing whatever it takes to protect the profits on the banks. Free article