Don't get sick in ireland, a friend recently advised me. Of course my friend was referring to our antiquated and underfunded hospital service where there is a better chance of catching MRSA than getting a bed. Lo and behold only a matter of weeks after this comment was made to me and I fell ill. Thankfully my illness didn't necessitate a visit to hospital, however my doctor did advise me that I would be off work for a month and maybe longer and that I should rest and avoid any stressful situations.

Not to worry, I thought, sure I'm insured against this type of thing. I pay my P.R.S.I(almost 5 grand between my own and my employers contribution in 2005) and can therefore claim disability benefit. No problem there. But what about my extortionate rent? I could claim rent allowance from my local C.W.O. So I set about it. First, I had to find out where my local C.W.O operated from. I phoned what used to be the health board and after six phonecalls(daytime rates from a mobile at 55cent per minute) I discovered where to go. So off I set, down to the local health centre which turned out to be a short bus ride away. I would have walked but I am sick and walking any distance is a problem, naturally. No problem said the C.W.O, just get this form (s.w.a 3) filled out. One section to be completed by me, one by the landlord and one by Dublin City Council.

A run down of what filled the newswire over the past 12 months.

Over the last 12 months, the site has grown from strength to strength, with a huge increase in readership, a wide variety of subjects and issues being covered, and more people regularly contributing quality material to the newswire. To welcome our readers and contributors into the new year, the editorial collective have compiled a comprehensive review of the events and stories of the year just gone, that were published on Indymedia Ireland.

We hope that 2006 will continue to see IMC activities increase and improve. Dont forget that you can write for us too - thats the beauty of open publishing. You can become the media with a click of the publish button. We want your stories, images, audio and video!