Dublin’s planners are failing to help our capital to flourish
Recent debate about the failure to provide a sense of security for Dubliners in the inner city and especially in the north inner city poses fundamental questions for those who love our capital city and want it to flourish. The contrast between night-time on O’Connell Street and its surrounding areas and, say, South William Street […]
Truss cannot be forgiven or excused for what has happened
The spectacle of political implosion in the Conservative party is no reason for schadenfreude (joy at misfortune of another) among Irish and European democrats. But the Truss premiership has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster for Britain. She cannot be forgiven or excused for what has happened. Truss and her allies ruthlessly hunted Sunak, […]
Once Northern Ireland leaves UK, political unionism becomes extinct
I firmly believe that the project of Irish independence has- eventually – been a great success. I disagree with those who argue that the armed struggle for our independence between 1916 and 1922 was unjustified because Home Rule as sought by the Redmondites would have brought about independence in a non-violent political evolution. On the […]
UK has degraded its systems of governmental checks and balances
The revelation that Kwazi Kwarteng committed Britain to a programme of unfunded tax cuts and unfunded borrowing without even discussing the abolition of the 45% tax rate for highest earners with any cabinet colleague except Liz Truss had many Irish people scratching their heads. Ireland has a written constitution which radically differs from the non-constitutional […]
True republicans should focus on bringing about a ‘good’ united Ireland
Now that Northern Ireland is not, and never can be, “a protestant state for a protestant people” (a misquotation of Sir James Craig), the question of denominationalism in politics north and south of the border needs to be revisited. What Craig said was actually slightly different. In the course of a debate in Stormont in […]
Do we have a ‘department of energy’ or a ‘department of lethargy’?
The Government was due to “unveil” its options in relation to energy supply security on Monday. But now we are told there will be a month-long public consultation process on foot of the much-delayed Cepa consultancy report looking at options which was published this week. And – wait for it – at the end of […]