Tallyman

So here it is, loads of people have been asking for it and I have finally got round to it. This is the Defence Trail Brief filed June 2, 2008 in the case of HEART BEAT RECORDS, INC., Plaintiff v. DS MUSIC PRODUCTIONS, LLC, ROSEMARY SCALLON A/K/A DANA,AND DAMIEN SCALLON, (Defendants).

Read the full script here.

The Representing Women Research Project at Dublin City University is hosting a one-day seminar on Representing Women: Images, Discourses and Realities in Irish Political Life, which will bring together researchers, politicians and other stakeholders to exchange ideas and share experiences on the gender dynamics operating within Irish parliamentary democracy with a particular focus on the representation, role(s) and performance of women politicians in Dail Eireann. This will be the first multi-disciplinary academic conference to investigate the factors contributing to the significant gender imbalance in Irish parliamentary democracy. The aim of the conference is to make a contribution to the discussion about developing strategies for political change in this area of the Irish public domain. Read the rest of this entry »

The proposal to introduce a dress code for Dáil Eireann (Irish parliament, lower house) has now, according to The Irish Times, been shelved.

According to the article the spectacle of Irish parliamentarians being hauled out kicking and screaming in protest, clad in their finest denim jeans and pink shirts, would become a media circus and detract from the work of the Dáil.

These ‘representatives’ should be ashamed of themselves. What dignity is left in politics is subverted by their lack or respect of the democratic institution that is Leinster House.

What’s worse the Government has caved into their childish tantrums. Back when I was younger my parents didn’t put much effort into accommodating any drama or ‘hissyfit‘ I begun. My punishment was simple, removal of privileges. Maybe instead of dragging these Deputies out by their uggs we should be looking at removing their privileges that are not protected by legislation, and eventually get around to legislating for appropriate parliamentary behavior through the SIPO.

Shame on Richard Boyd-Barrett, shame on Mick Wallace, shame on Luke Flanagan et al.

Students this year have been finding it increasingly difficult to get any information on the third level grants for the upcoming academic year; or at least easily understood information. You can get all the infor on the Citizen’s Information portal here, as always.

Universities and the USI have been encouraging students to apply early and you can now apply online on the HEA’s www.studentfinance.ie website.

The new online system is quite good, but not all awarding bodies have yet to sign up to it, including Dublin City Council, one of the largest awarding bodies in the state.

If you are bored you can read the full Ministerial order which awarding bodies seem to be posting.

So here are the figures for the new academic year:

Maintenance Grant payments

Maintenance grant rates for 2011

Income levels