A referendum to expand the size of the cabinet would just look like ‘jobs for the boys’
Taoiseach Micheál Martin recently floated holding a referendum to amend the Constitution to increase the number of members of government. Article 28 provides as follows: “The Government shall consist of not less than seven and not more than fifteen members who shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.” As somebody […]
The US will face a reckoning one day. In the meantime, Trump just gets more volatile
What happens in the United States often feels more like a bad dream come true than the outcome of democratic politics. If, say, 10 years ago someone suggested that a US president would one day sue the Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion (€8.6 billion) and direct his own state lawyers to settle his suit by creating […]
Post bye-election squabble among left-wing parties does not inspire confidence for future
As the dust settles on last week’s two bye-elections, perhaps it is time to reflect on their outcome. Claims by some so-called left-wing parties that the results were affected by the policies of Sinn Féin need some critical analysis. First, we should remember that the voters were not choosing a government or even mapping out the shape […]
Trump accuses his opponents of treason. But it’s clear who the real traitor is
The visit by Donald Trump, the American idiot king, to Beijing for a summit with President Xi ended in apparent failure and toe-curling abasement of the United States. Trump, in an absurd riff, suggested that this diplomatic fiasco was the “greatest summit ever” and a summit of the type that observers had “never seen before”. […]
Stop demonising one-off rural housing. Not everyone wants to be surrounded by neighbours
Discussion on our response to global warming and climate change becomes unduly polarised between points of view held by eco-activists on the one hand and sceptics on the other. Without needless controversy, there are some serious issues on which I believe fair-minded discussion is badly needed. One of these issues is that of what is […]
Decent Irish people have concerns about migration. If government doesn’t listen, populists will
Recent newspaper reports suggest that the Government has decided to tighten up the Irish approach to applications for refugee status and international protection. The whole question of the relationship between asylum and international protection on the one hand, and inward migration on the other, is fraught with political and legal difficulty. Because Ireland has, unwisely in retrospect, acceded […]