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Minister Phil Hogan has unveiled a plan to impose a quota on the number of female general election candidates that parties must stand. Starting at 30% this will increase to 40% over time. Failure to reach the quota will result in cuts to state funding to the “offending” political party.

Two excellent public meetings organised by Clare Daly TD and the Socialist Party were held in Swords on the subject of saving Metro North. The working meetings have agreed to launch a cross-community campaign to save this vital project which will bring urgently needed jobs and infrastructure to thousands of people throughout North Dublin.

The United Left Alliance, in existence just seven months, was established to pull together a slate of candidates in advance of a general election. The election then came quickly, a year and a half early, forced along because the deepening economic crisis smashed the basis for the government.

The United Left Alliance has the potential to be at the heart of the active resistance to the fresh round of attacks coming from the government in the months ahead. In order to achieve this potential there are important tasks the ULA has to focus on in the immediate future.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell is a classic book, which every socialist should read. Although written in the early part of the last century its ideas and characters are fresh and interesting. Its author was a worker who died 100 years ago in poverty but this article and review reprinted from 1977, shows how his legacy lives on.

During the evening of Thursday 16 May, the opposition youth movement that is developing in Spain brought out 150,000 protesters to occupy squares in 57 towns and cities.

The youth movement - ‘Real Democracy Now’ - is continuing and spreading. Despite the attempts of the PSOE government to ban the protests, this coming weekend is expected to see a further growth of this youth rebellion.

After a tremendous demonstration against cuts last Saturday, 14 May, in Barcelona, with 250,000 participants, this week saw the development of the “May 15 movement”. Unemployed and students took to the streets. Inspired by the demonstrations in Portugal and the revolutions in the Maghreb and Middle East, especially Egypt, young people occupied Puerta del Sol, one of the main squares of Madrid. Police repeatedly tried to break up the protest but the youth defended their “Tahir Square”.

A few weeks ago I suggested in the Dáil that the queen of England might be politely asked to contribute to the cost of her bed & breakfast during her visit to Ireland this week.

Ever since Neil Lennon came to Scotland to play for his boyhood team he has received torrents of abuse. No doubt for a section of bigots, being from Northern Ireland, a Catholic and a Celtic fan is enough to mark him out for this treatment.