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. […]
There’s a Bermuda Triangle of dereliction in Dublin. The solution lies in Leinster House
Last week Olivia Kelly reported in The Irish Times that Dublin City Council was “finally” appearing “to be arming itself” in the battle against dereliction. Its superweapon, apparently, will be the Dublin City Development Corporation, a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) dedicated to city regeneration. This will happen “in the coming months”. The non-statutory SPV will have an “independent” board of directors […]
War in the Middle East has cooled enthusiasm of conservatives for an Irish Trump
Less than three months ago, US Ambassador to Ireland Edward Walsh attended both days of the inaugural IRL Forum organised by Eddie Hobbs. Hobbs reportedly told the Irish Examiner that there was potential for an “Irish Trump” in the ranks of the Independent Ireland party. The newspaper reported that Walsh’s office had contacted Hobbs to facilitate his attendance at […]