If you’re lucky enough to be well off, please take a moment and think about the poor, and the unfortunate, among us: Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe tells @PatKennyNT that Ministers won't be taking a pay cut for #COVID19. He says Ministers haven't had the pay increases that other sectors have had in recent years. — […]
Cards on the table: I think criticising him for this is nuts: On the front line – Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar at Morgans Place site in Blachardstown where he he help with #Covid19 testing of residents. This sends out a really positive message 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/neqoZ817dZ — Mayor of Galway – Cllr. Eddie Hoare (@EddieHoareFG) April 27, 2020 […]
An absolutely astonishing report in the Irish Times this morning. No, scratch that. A report in the Irish Times that really should be astonishing, but of course, isn’t: Senior figures in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil believe they can progress to negotiations on a coalition government with the Green Party on the basis of the […]
One of the most remarkable achievements of the Irish government in the Covid-19 crisis has been its ability to avoid almost any hard questions for any of its actions, even when they’ve made clearly terrible decisions that would end up costing lives. Most media outlets have simply fallen into line and become mouthpieces for the […]
As of 17th April, 302 people have died from the virus in community care settings, which is 62% of all Covid-19 deaths, with 253 of those in nursing homes. Each day, we read on the news about how many cases and deaths there have been, how the curve is flattening, and whether we can ease […]
Some of you are probably too young to remember what happened all the way back in January of 2020, which feels like it was about two decades ago at this point, but it’s worth remembering anyway: Former Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has rejected claims that “shadowy figures” play a key role in the running […]
An interesting report in the Examiner the other day that, with all the Coronavirus news, got a little bit overlooked. But it’s genuinely surprising that it’s taken this long for something like this to be floated: A number of Fine Gael ministers do not believe a government can be formed and that a second general […]
In the days following Leo Varadkar’s address to the Nation on St Patrick’s Day, there was a flurry of chatter online as journalists, politicos and those outside the bubble shared their thoughts and reactions. Most of the coverage was undoubtedly positive, much of the public seemingly reassured that the Government and the Taoiseach are making […]
Last week I asked “What next for the Soldiers of Destiny?” and since then, at near break neck pace, the path to government has become clearer. The Leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have agreed to enter detailed negotiations, as equal partners. The ongoing national emergency posed by COVID-19 has provided the political fig […]
When I was in my mid-twenties, journalist Justine McCarthy wrote a vicious article attacking me in the Irish Independent. Actually there were two articles, over two consecutive weeks, both a big splash covering the front page of what was then the weekend section of the paper. I was reminded of that hatchet-job, and of winning […]
The chances of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Sinn Fein coming together to form a national government are, let’s face it, almost zero, for the simple reason that politicians probably feel that it would probably disadvantage all three parties. But that may well be wrong, and, more importantly, leaving the politics out of it, there’s […]
On Saturday, more than three weeks will have passed since the General Election, and Ireland still has no obvious Government in sight. It is now expected that the next attempt by the Dáil to elect a new Taoiseach may not take place until the end of March. Yesterday, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín noted the somewhat […]