Northern census should bring some clarity to Border poll debate
This year is a census year in the North. Demographers are predicting that for the first time since partition, the number of people there describing themselves as Catholic may exceed the number of persons describing themselves as Christians of other denominations. That doesn’t mean that Catholics will be in the majority; it merely means that […]
EU chilly on State’s ‘soft cop’ NI protocol line
Nothing is as simple as it seems in relation to Covid and the Northern Ireland protocol. The Financial Times reported yesterday that anonymous EU sources were voicing annoyance with recent efforts by Micheál Martin and Simon Coveney to persuade Brussels and London to dial down the heat in relation to the practical problems that have […]
ESB’s new HQ is a monument to planning failure
The pandemic has delayed the removal of the final remnants of scaffolding at the ESB’s redevelopment of Lower Fitzwilliam Street. However, with most of the scaffolding gone, the reality of what has replaced Sam Stephenson’s awful planning blunder is becoming apparent. In essence, a massive office block has been constructed behind a screen of brickwork […]
What impetuous zeal explains EU’s article 16 debacle?
The demands of the news cycle are notorious. But we rely on senior figures in government, whether elected or unelected, not to succumb to their addiction for short-term approbation and to get things right. The euro-debacle over Article 16 of the Irish Protocol was a case in point. The EU Commission is not elected. It […]
Second impeachment will strengthen Trump
The House of Representatives put forward an article of impeachment against Donald Trump and 10 Republicans crossed the floor to impeach the president. A bare majority sufficed. The constitution of the United States provides that the Senate conducts a trial “on oath or affirmation” and a two-thirds majority is required to convict him. Achieving such […]
Church, State and society all owe redress over homes
A somewhat fractious debate has emerged on whether responsibility, legal or moral, for the awful neglect and ill-treatment of Ireland’s unmarried mothers and their children lies with the State, the churches, or with society at large. It is a combination of all three. A duty of acknowledgment of responsibility and of redress lies with all […]