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 […]
We must never repeat the colossal damage we inflicted on ourselves during Covid-19
As I write, Ireland still awaits the outcome of the review process chaired by Prof Anne Scott, an expert in medical ethics, into the State’s response to the Covid pandemic of 2020. And rather than waiting further for the outcome of that report, I feel compelled to express my own opinions on how the Irish State (and […]
Orbán’s defeat is a ‘dunt in the snot’ for Trump – and a lesson for Ireland
It has been an abysmal week for US president Donald Trump and his vice-president JD Vance. For Vance in particular, things could not have been worse. Ordered by the idiot king to fly to Budapest in a forlorn last-minute mercy dash to save the government of Viktor Orbán, he abased himself by a combination of lies and bombast. […]