AS the floats and parades roll out over the next few days, Ireland's Ministers take their annual leave of our annual celebration and head for foreign lands to spread the 'Irish message', like modern day Crusaders.

The disturbing revelation that the lives of women in Cork may be being put at risk due to inadequate gynaecological services only adds more doubt to the questions surrounding the effectiveness of our health system.

THERE has always been tenuous debate surrounding the idea of whether man’s negative influence on the environment is greater or lesser than the environment’s negative influence on man; a debate which will again no doubt be ignited following the announcement that the State is commence a compensation plan to cut a third of the Irish whitefish fleet .

One would have to be forgiven for waking up this week and questioning who they are, where they are from and if they would actually be able to cast their vote in the upcoming elections (and I'm not talking about the 2009 locals.)

Tip O'Neill once said that "all politics is local" and he knew a thing or two about politics it must be said. Another wily old political dog, the British Conservative Rab Butler described politics as "the art of the possible," another catchy truism.

The Cork Independent was present this week at a focus group consultation chaired by Cork City Partnership which examined integration strategy in Cork city.