Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll: More favour abortion reform than repeal of the Eighth Amendment
There is stronger support among voters for a new constitutional amendment regulating abortion than repealing the Eighth Amendment, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll.
The option of replacing the Eighth Amendment with a more liberal constitutional provision is favoured by 38 per cent of voters, against 28 per cent who want to see the current constitutional ban removed completely to allow the Dáil to legislate on abortion.
Counting to start in Northern Ireland Assembly election
Counting begins at 8am after a snap election for Northern Ireland's devolved institutions.
This is the second contest in less than a year and early indications are that turnout has been higher than expected. Five Assembly seats are up for grabs in each of the 18 constituencies, with the overall number returned falling from 108 to 90. A total of 228 candidates are running with the last results not expected until later on Saturday.
Government's plan to solve housing crisis 'likely to fail'
The Government's plan to solve the housing crisis by accelerating the supply is likely to fail and lead only to more young people being priced out of the market, a new study has warned.
Dublin architect Mel Reynolds said research showed that, over the last 40 years, increasing the supply of new private sector homes has never once led to a reduction in property prices here.
Even at the height of the State's boom time build in 2006, when a record 92,000 homes were built, property prices rose by 14 per cent.
Quality of teaching 'at risk' due to teacher shortages
The quality of teaching across primary and secondary schools is at risk due to a lack of qualified teachers, according to an unpublished report commissioned by the Department of Education.
It finds that at second level there is a shortage of teachers in key subjects – such as Irish, home economics, physics and European languages – which is resulting in the use of "out of field" teachers.
At primary level, there is significant concern over a major shortage of substitute cover for teachers who are absent due to maternity leave, illness or career breaks.
Warnings over 'fast and loose' medicinal cannabis supply
Families seeking to treat their sick children with medicinal cannabis are being subjected to ripoffs and misleading information, the mother of the first child to be legally allowed to use the treatment has warned.
One family had bought CBD (cannabinoid) oil which turned out to be sunflower oil when tested, a mother whose son was given the first licence to use medicinal cannabis for a severe form of epilepsy said. Another paid €300 for a bottle of hemp oil with no active ingredient.
And finally: What to do with this runt of a Dáil – rip it up or pull like a dog?
The New Politics' is the unappealing offspring of the old, but more ineffectual, writes Miriam Lord