Irish Election - Coverage of Irish Politics, News and Current Affairs

So its death by a thousand cuts as Eddie O’Sullivan leaves his post after a miserable streak. No doubt it will cloud the fact that those three triple crowns brought us back into the centre stage, which is unfortuate.
It is slow, painful and akin to water torture but may the phenomenon which ended tonight for [...]

As Bertie works his way back Washington, yet another interesting development at Mahon.   It seems that the relevant manager of Bertie’s accounts at the Irish Permanent is a bit less reticent than his counterparts at the AIB, who were nearly as effective at the strategic memory loss as Bertie himself.   The man from the Irish [...]

Economic growth to slump to the lowest levels since the recessionary 1980s. Unemployment to rise. Inflation heading back up. Tax revenue slumping. Exchequer deficit out of control. Export growth sluggish. No direction, no respite, no hope and . . . no ideas. Yep, it looks like Fianna Fail is odds on to win the next [...]

At the Saint Patrick’s Day reception –
President, as we say good-bye on this occasion, but hopefully we’ll keep in touch over the years, I will remember — and I hope that everyone in Ireland will — how kind, how favorable you’ve been, how really open you’ve been to helping us, and the amount of time [...]

I haven’ty much time to go through all this but if this is true.From Fine Gael.
Fine Gael Energy Spokesman Simon Coveney today (Thursday) accused Minister Eamon Ryan of performing a major u-turn on a key Programme for Government promise by announcing he is shelving proposals to transfer ownership of the electricity grid from the ESB [...]

From RTE.
Amnesty International has said Ireland is clearly contravening international law by allowing its territory to be used to facilitate the practice of extraordinary rendition.The group is basing its claim on the findings of its latest report.Amnesty in Ireland claims Shannon Airport was used to refuel an aircraft that the following day was allegedly used to move [...]

This business about the M3 road being run through the hill of Tara is nothing new. It is however back in the news again. This time because a protester has chained herself inside a tunnel under which the roadworks are taking place. Her life is now in danger as the traffic of diggers passing over [...]

Today’s ESRI Quarterly report is not pleasant reading. Growth at 1.6% a deficit of nearly €10 billion by end-2009, the construction slump to continue well into 2009 and worries about unemployment.
Happy St Paddy’s weekend all.

Not that it should come as a surprise but one really does have to laugh sometimes - it beats crying.

From RTE.
The Taoiseach has defended the amount of money spent sending ministers and government officials abroad for St Patrick’s Day.
Will we get a clear and consise break down of the benefit these trips gained when they come out and the specific reasons why their WAGs and HABs get to go as well funded by the [...]

It strikes one as serendipity - for the opposition at least - that the Dail debates a motion on the three reports from last week into Port Laoise, the one that gave rise to the Naughton letter and entered ’systems-failure’ in the political lexicon by failing patients in a grotesque multiplicity of manners while the [...]

Original image The Chancer.

Simon had given the most recent account of the phenomenon: the government toying with days of the week and seasons when scheduling elections and referenda for political advantage.  Now Bertie has a new twist: a Lisbon vote in June, on a day yet to be scheduled, but in the middle of when many first-time voters [...]

This post actually started a while back, the last time Bertie mentioned we would be tightening our belts this year, I decided to finish it because he mentioned it again yesterday.
We know that the US is as good as in a recession, their central bank doesnt seem to have much capacity to stall the bad [...]

Some people might wonder why i pick on Fine Gael press releases and not Fianna Fail. Well with releases like this Wallace seeks Park & Ride for Ratoath
At a recent meeting with Bus Eireann, Minister Wallace can confirm that a proposed Park & Ride facility for Ratoath was discussed. Currently Bus Eireann are examining the [...]

Shotgun cartridges sent to Harney, clinics