A Brexit-touting trump is no friend to Ireland or the EU
North America and Europe should see each other as friendly and supportive regional partner economies. Culturally the two regions have common roots and a conflict between them is unthinkable. The North Atlantic regional economic zone is and will remain the dominant economic force in world affairs. That was not always so. Normandy in 1944 was […]
Trump wants a war to make 2020 a khaki election
We have many reasons to be very worried in May 2019. There is every reason this weekend to fear that a phalanx, including Trump, Netanyahu, Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, Jared Kushner, John Bolton and Mike Pompeo, is plotting a war against Iran. The pretext for this war is – wait for it – secret […]
We should be very, very worried about the consequences of a no-deal Brexit
Donald Trump will shortly arrive in Europe to commemorate the D Day landings in June 1944. As part of his European tour, it is likely that he will meet Theresa May, the rapidly disappearing Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In addition, he will meet Taoiseach Leo Varadkar somewhere in Clare. The Houses of the […]
There was no Green wave – prosperity, jobs and housing will dictate the next election
Let’s get a grip on political reality. The results of the local and European elections are really not that surprising. There was a low turnout by voters. These elections, held every five years, tell us very little. They will change very little. The Irish vote will not affect the EU very much, if at all. […]
Short-termism of National Broadband Plan is typical of this government
Just as we thought that the National Children’s Hospital massive cost over-run might have been a one-off from which the Government and the permanent government in the civil service would draw a serious lesson, we see the Government over-ride the advice of its most senior financial civil servant, Robert Watt, against committing to the national […]
Government must tackle the growing crisis in our prisons
Charlie Flanagan holds one of the most difficult posts in our cabinet. Every day, some new issue confronts him and nearly always there is little or nothing he could have done to avoid that confrontation. His department has a very wide range of responsibilities from immigration to crime to the courts system to law reform […]