Politico is running a series of interviews with people in Ireland living on the verge of poverty who will be plunged deeper into poverty if their allowances are cut significantly. This third interview in the series focuses on the experiences of a South African asylum seeker living in Galway. [Interview conducted by the European Anti-Poverty Network, edited by Alison Spillane of Politico] Add a comment

The real genius of our warped social system is the fact that the rest of us have been persuaded it all makes sense, writes Vincent Browne.

How did we devise a society in which a private, rich elite got control of the country's financial institutions, which made them spectacularly rich?

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If the government's four-year plan goes ahead it will reduce the social welfare budget by €2.8 million by 2014; around €850 million of this will be "frontloaded" in Budget 2011. Politico is running a series of interviews with people in Ireland living on the verge of poverty who will be plunged deeper into poverty if their allowances are cut significantly. This second interview in the series focuses on a single mother living on disability allowance. [Interview conducted by the European Anti-Poverty Network, edited by Alison Spillane of Politico]

Fiona is currently doing a community development course and gaining work experience in that area. An early school leaver, she first did a FAS course in fashion design and then worked a variety of jobs before returning to education. She lives in Cork with her daughter.

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Around 100,000 people took to the streets of the capital today as part of a national demonstration against the government's austerity measures. By Alison Spillane (Photographs by Lucy White; Video by Evie Franks)

The demonstration, organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), departed from the civic offices at Wood Quay shortly after 12 noon and proceeded to O'Connell Street where a protest rally was held outside the GPO.

Addressing the crowd, master of ceremonies Fintan O'Toole highlighted the rhetoric surrounding the economic crisis, evident in phrases such as "we are where we are" – the implication being that we must accept our lot.

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If there was some level of societal consensus around what is 'enough', we could plan for a very different type of society, not just for a few but for all. By Sara Burke.

I have had enough. Enough of our failed political leaders whom the majority of people no longer support. Enough of the same economics those same old political leaders are trying to persuade us will get us out of this mess, even though it is the very same economics that got us into the economic crisis we are in.

I've had enough of living in a country where up to recently having too much was the status quo and all of a sudden not having enough is the norm. How's about we think, as a people, about 'enough'?

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It's a misconception that for the first two thirds of the 20th century Ireland existed in a kind of self-contained cultural bubble, safely removed from the artistic developments unfolding at a dizzying rate elsewhere. We are led to believe that the only Irish people to make strides in the worlds of literature, painting, sculpture and design were those who went to live on the Continent while native Irish art remained traditional, insular and stilted. If The Moderns, the mammoth new exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), demonstrates anything it is the facileness of this view. It proves that far from being 'visual illiterates' fearful of the new and the different, our native artists were producing brilliantly original work just as innovative as any produced in other countries.

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Barnardos CEO Fergus Finlay last night launched a scathing attack on the government over the children's rights referendum. By Alison Spillane.

Speaking at a public forum in Liberty Hall theatre, Mr Finlay (pictured) referenced the Ryan report, the Ferns report and the Roscommon child abuse case saying what all the victims had in common was the fact that "nobody ever listened to them, they had no voice".

Mr Finlay reiterated this point in an interview with Politico last week (see below) and added, "The only way we can change that, in my view, is by starting with the Constitution and by working through our laws and systems".

Last night, he gave three main reasons as to why, in his opinion, the government had not accepted the current wording of the children's rights referendum.

He said the Dept of Finance rejected it because "rights are expensive"; the Dept of Justice felt it would interfere with immigration policy and "make it harder to deport children"; whilst the Dept of Education view was, he said, "if children have to be heard, they're going to be very expensive to expel from school".

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Irish people can use the current crisis as an opportunity to effect positive and lasting change on our society, a public forum heard last night. By Alison Spillane.

Speaking to a packed auditorium in Liberty Hall theatre, Fintan O'Toole said, "We [Irish citizens] have the capacity to imagine a political project for ourselves".

Mr O' Toole said control was a crucial element in escaping the current situation. He drew attention to the widespread feeling that citizens' views are irrelevant. This loss of a sense of control is "hugely corrosive" he said, "socially, psychologically, and economically".

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