Free bus travel, free television licences, heating bill payments – one Conservative minister in Britain has suggested rich pensioners may not need them all.
The whip system – where TDs must vote with their party position or risk expulsion – is the subject of some debate in political circles but immediate reform, ahead of potentially divisive abortion debate, appears unlikely.
The Minister was speaking after it emerged the Irish Hospital Consultants Association will not be attending reform talks in the Labour Court on Thursday.
That is the view of the United Nations, which said nearly a third of North Korean children under the age of 5 show signs of stunting. 16 million North Koreans rely on food rations.
President Francois Hollande’s parliamentary majority will give him the opportunity to push through budget and tax reforms, and to move away from austerity towards growth.
Japan is to take steps to forgive about 300 billion yen (€2.8 billion) of Burma’s debt and resume development aid in a bid to support democratic and economic reforms in the country.
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has admitted he can’t guarantee there won’t be individual problems caused by the exodus of public sector workers at the end of the month.
The public service reforms to be announced will see less of a reduction in staff numbers in the public sector than had been pledged in the programme for government.
The demonstrators were calling for Egypt’s military rulers to speed up the pace of democratic reforms in a country that is still charting its political future.
Minister Simon Coveney remains in his post this morning, following the government seeing off a no confidence vote by Sinn Féin.
The opposition party’s motion of no confidence in the Foreign Affairs minister was met with a confidence motion by the government, which it comfortably won by 92 votes to 59.
The no confidence vote was in response to Coveney’s handling of his nomination of Katherine Zappone to a UN role and his response to the controversy that followed.
Morning rain, then a couple of t-showers
Max: 17 °C
Min: 12 °C
Partly sunny with a brief shower or two
Max: 16 °C
Min: 11 °C
