Commuter belt areas like Meath and Kildare, which have high numbers of married households with children, are being hit the hardest by rising unemployment.

New data suggests that there is increasing concern about the impact of working mothers on family life, according to a new survey by Cambridge University.

A ‘test tube baby’ in India may become the world's first surrogate orphan after the Japanese couple who were to adopt her split up.

For the first time ever more children are being born to Irish women in their late thirties than to women in their late twenties as mothers-to-be are leaving raising a family until later than ever.

"Lads’ mags" are encouraging young men to look at women as sex objects, and their publishers should be held to account for this, according to a leading Conservative politician.

RTÉ has settled its High Court action against the Broadcasting Complaints Commission over its decision upholding a complaint about the use of a graphic featuring a clerical collar, rosary beads and Bible in relation to a TV news item about the Ferns report into child sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Turkey's Constitutional Court has cut in half the State funding for the ruling AK Party, but has stepped back from banning it. The party, which won a decisive victory at the polls last year, had been accused of undermining the country's very restrictive secular system.

RTÉ is to challenge a ruling by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) over a successful complaint made by a viewer against the use by the station of a religious symbol in a report on the findings of the Ferns inquiry into clerical child abuse. The station has begun High Court proceedings against the BCC.

The Government is looking to institute policies which will “support the family”, according to the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Mary Hanafin. In an interview with the Sunday Independent, Minister Hanafin said that the Government had “the responsibility of supporting family”.

Nearly all of the social problems facing Britain stem from a loss of religion, the Chief Rabbi told Anglican bishops last night.

A Sikh girl in the UK has won the right to wear a religious bangle at school after the High Court found in her favour in a landmark ruling which could impact on schools across the country.

Ireland's laws should no longer favour marriage over other family forms, but instead treat all “non-traditional forms of partnership” equally, according to the UN Human Rights Committee. The Committee had been speaking to various representatives of the Irish Government about the State's human rights record.

The Committee released its findings yesterday. Amongst its recommendations was that the Government's proposed Civil Partnership legislation should “ensure that its legislation is not discriminatory of non-traditional forms of partnership, including taxation and welfare benefits”.

The Human Rights Committee took up concerns outlined by a Shadow Report compiled by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and partner NGOs.

The recommendation that the Government treat marriage exactly the same as any other family form is in marked contrast to a recent UN document which affirmed the importance of fathers in the lives of children. The document was launched in May by the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon on International Day of Families.

The document, called ‘Fathers and Families: Responsibilities and Challenges’. Launching the document, Secretary General Ki-Moon said: “Recent research has affirmed the positive impact of active involvement by fathers in the development of their children.”

On this score the document itself says: “The effects of children growing up without a father present in the household are a subject of growing concern to researchers and policy-makers. Researchers continue to explore possible links between fatherhood deprivation and social outcomes, such as school attainment and crime.”

It points out: “With growing rates of divorce, particularly in developed countries, men are more likely than ever before to live separately from their families. More and more children live in one-parent households, usually headed by women.”

This latest UN document backs up a report issued last year by Unicef called ‘Report Card 7: an Overview of Child Wellbeing in Rich Countries’ that also draws attention to the link between possible problems in child development and family forms such as lone parent households and step-families.

Married fathers are most likely to be involved in the lives of their children.

Nearly 50 per cent of fertility experts believe that IVF treatment should not be offered to smokers or obese people, according to a new survey. The poll of international experts, most of whom work in the UK, found that only 29 per cent of such experts felt that IVF should be offered to all.

The Legal Aid Board (LAB) has predicted that growing unemployment could result in more couples seeking State assistance to separate and divorce.

Graham Cogman, a UK constable of 15 years standing, has taken a case against Norfolk Police on foot of claims he was victimised for refusing to wear a pink ribbon on his uniform to mark a "gay pride" event. Mr Cogman has also questioned the force's stance towards homosexuals.

The Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) has told the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children that married couples “facing crisis pregnancy” should be allowed to place their child for adoption.

Educate Together, which provides non denominational primary school education, will step up its campaign to establish schools at second level, after a study which showed strong parental support for greater school choice.

The US state of California will get to vote in November on a state constitutional amendment aimed at banning same-sex marriage, the state Supreme Court decided last week. In a unanimous ruling, without comment, the court dismissed a lawsuit by gay-rights advocates seeking to remove an initiative sponsored by pro-marriage groups from the Nov. 4 ballot.

New figures announced this month have revealed that half the children of British-born mothers are being born outside marriage. The figures, published by the UK's Office for National Statistics also suggest that only a minority of children of long-standing British parents will grow up with a married mother and father.

Tory leader David Cameron has echoed the sentiments of US Democratic Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama in calling for black fathers to get more involved with their children.