It is important, generally, to try and not get personal when it comes to the people who govern us. For the most part, they are doing their best. Being wrong, as they regularly are is a human fault, not one that is specific to one party, or one person. Politicians want to be remembered well, […]
Two places, two very different situations, and it’s worth talking about. First, Ireland: Nphet recommendations ahead of today’s cabinet meeting: 🔸Older people asked to limit time outdoors, avoid congregated settings. 🔸Family gatherings reduced to six per house indoors, 15 outdoors. 🔸People asked to work from home if they can. https://t.co/4kGSr0MRkQ — Philip Ryan (@Philip_Ryan) August […]
What do we learn from comparing the response and experience of different countries to Covid? Nothing useful I would argue. Perhaps when it’s all over we can start comparing and asking who made the best decisions, but this is not over; we aren’t even at half time. Which countries’ leaders have made the best decisions? […]
This is not Minneapolis. This is not Portland. This is Dublin. And this happened yesterday. Last month we had a Black Lives Matter march through the city. Last week we had our president sign into law new powers for vulture funds and banks. Yesterday we had black people dragged out of their home by men […]
New Zealand is an island nation of about 5 million people. It is a western liberal democracy with public infrastructure and an advanced market economy. Like Ireland, New Zealand sits just off the coast of another larger island (admittedly about 4,000km off the coast, but we live in a globalised world) with which it is […]
The great heathen army that invaded England (and Ireland) in 865AD came, according to legend, in response to the execution of Ragnar Lothbrook by King Aelle of Northhumbria. Whether that is true, or false, it was the largest invasion that these islands had seen since Roman Times. For 45 years the Vikings dominated Northern England, […]
The annual Desmond Greaves summer school is normally held in late August or early September. It is probably unlikely to go ahead this year with the current restrictions in place, but it has been for long a key event in the calendar of the Irish left. One wonders what Greaves himself might have thought of […]
It seems like RTE has gone all 1968 on our ass. Not only have they guilt-bombed us now for months over our white supremacy and slavery associations, but now it seems the national broadcaster thinks that abolishing the police is something they should give a “platform” to. On Tuesday, the national broadcaster posted a piece […]
For most Irish people, child benefit is sacrosanct and should not be interfered with. Many families rely on the monthly payment to pay for basic costs, and, since the state has long-since scrapped child tax credits, child benefit has long been viewed as an essential contribution to the significant cost to families of rearing the […]
Ireland has been slower than most other EU countries to re-open its borders to inward travel. A certain narrative is taking root, endorsed by prominent voices in the scientific community as well as in Dáil Éireann, to the effect that we should spare no effort in keeping Ireland “Covid-free.” This narrative has radicalized our thinking around […]
In the last few days we learned that the Department of Social Protection has been busy tracking down people who have had the temerity to take a holiday while in receipt of Covid-19 welfare support – and punishing them by cutting off that payment. 104 people have had their Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) stopped “as […]
The development group which was reported to be in talks with the Irish government regarding the possibility of building a city for Hong Kongers in Ireland, has now confirmed that the discussion is ongoing. While the Department of Foreign Affairs seemed to downplay the possibility, Mark Lutter, the Chief Strategy Officer for the Victoria Harbor […]