Polling over the last few months in the US election has been fairly consistent: Donald Trump’s goose is well and truly cooked. It’s not just one pollster either – it’s been all of them. An approval rating stuck in the very low forties, and states like Texas and Georgia, which have always been rock solid […]
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the removal of statues being an assault on our history, and the decision of the Shelbourne Hotel to remove, yesterday, four statues that had adorned its exterior walls for a century and a half is interesting, in that context: The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin has taken down […]
The plan to re-open schools was released yesterday to great fanfare, and contains lots of big announcements, which are neatly summarised here, courtesy of the journal.ie: 1,080 extra teachers will be added to post-primary schools at a cost of €53 million to help reduce class sizes. Additional substitution, supervision, guidance counsellors and psychologists will also […]
What’s the world coming to when you can’t trust a politician to cut their own salary without actually increasing it by accident? Clarified this evening: voluntary pay cuts taken by the previous Govts lapsed when new Govt was formed, so today's 10% is effectively a renewal of those cuts. e.g. Taoiseach's salary €207,590; Varadkar had […]
As most people have, by now, heard, one of the first legislative priorities for the new Government was to pass legislation enabling all three “super junior” ministers to be paid a bit more: The Dáil has passed laws to increase remuneration for a third ‘super junior’ minister who will now be entitled to an allowance […]
A stunning story from Ben Haugh in the Times at the weekend: Six locations in Ireland were discussed by government officials as possible sites for a new autonomous city named Nextpolis proposed by a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, The Times can reveal. The Department of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with the Victoria Harbour […]
The result of the Green Party leadership contest, had it been narrated by David Attenborough, would have seen the magnificent old naturalist whispering into the microphone about Eamon Ryan something along the lines of “the old male has seen off his rival, for now, but it has come at a steep cost. Wounded and bruised, […]
A very rare victory for common sense, these days, so naturally it didn’t happen in Ireland: Nick Buckley MBE, who was ousted as chief executive of his own charity last month following some mild criticisms of the Black Lives Matter manifesto, is back in charge thanks to the Free Speech Union. As of today, the […]
Yes, this would be the same Michael Lowry who, according to the Moriarty Tribunal, made untrue statements in the course of its investigation, which found that he corruptly secured the largest single contract in the history of the state for Denis O’Brien, and received bribes for doing so. Still, it is never too late to […]
You might recall that she actually promised to do this during the long and often torturous debate about whether the Green Party would enter Government, if her side did not prevail. Well, her side lost. The Greens entered Government, and today, at least one Green is keeping their promises: Thread on leaving the greens:I have […]
Finally: Witnesses will no longer be required to swear before God or make an affirmation when filing affidavits under proposals agreed by Cabinet on Tuesday. Instead they will be able to make what will be known as a “statement of truth” and will face a maximum one year prison term for breaking it. The proposals […]
Three thousand, two hundred, and one euros. That’s the cost of the new EU deal to every man, woman and child, in Ireland. Of all the countries in the European Union, only Luxembourg residents will contribute more to the EU budget over the next few years. Irish people will pay in just under twice as […]