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

Reading the Nama legislation is like staring at the sky on a clear winter’s night: before us a universe of bullet points – scattershot, random and infinite – each of them at first appearing whole and discreet but, when put to the lens, revealing a multitude of hidden meanings – just as the specs in [...]

This useful piece of background information on  what ‘Nama’ really is arrived in my inbox this morning:

Nobody – not even The Two Brians; not even The Two Brians if they were natural born blonds; not even The Two Brians if they were natural born blonds and members of an enclosed order of nuns – nobody, absolutely nobody in this country  believes that the Irish Government is capable of achieving anything at [...]

Evidence that the multitude of elaborate planning policies introduced in this country in the past fifteen years had any beneficial effect on the quality of Tiger era development is hard to produce. These policies sure were elaborate and their outcomes sure were disappointing: normal democratic procedures were suspended to secure the efficient urbanisation of Dublin’s [...]

When his Ballsbridge development was refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanala Friday, Sean Dunne blamed it all on the Irish planning system. He said that the planning process in this country took too long, was too complicated, cost too much money, was too confusing, etc., etc., and likened the system to a game of [...]

‘Once upon a couple of weeks ago… ‘ This is the injudicious phrase that Bono used as he debuted as an op-ed contributor in this Sunday’s New York Times. Good Lord. Never. Never ever. Not even if I was down with the worst respiratory tract infection since the plague of 1343, not even if I [...]

The Taoiseach formerly known as Bertie wants a title. Looking forward to hearing your suggestions. Here are mine: Iar infection Iar wig Iar relevent Iar ittant Iar-ksome Iar of the sow (that you can’t make a silk purse from) Wasn’t it funny when people pointed out that, in wanting to be referred to as Iar [...]

As if we didn’t need another reason to vote No to the Lisbon Treaty, along comes news that a bunch of Commission nitwits in Brussels have written a secret report (ooooh) proving beyond all doubt that we Irish are being brainwashed into becoming Euro-sceptics by an increasingly independent and, therefore obviously, tabloid media. Details of [...]

The Government’s announcement of €500m in cutbacks reminds me of that other €500m that was in the news lately – the overspend on the Ballymun Regeneration Project. What if that €500 million were somehow refound and used to tackle the Government’s current budgetary problems? Problem solved. You would be forgiven for thinking. 

There’s been so much debate in the past week about the sneaky underhanded reasons why 53% of the population voted no to Lisbon. First, No Voters were a bunch of unreformed republicans; yesterday it emerged they were in league with UK fascists and jailbirds. But it’s always gone unquestioned that the Yes Voters were a [...]

The Yes campaigners went on the various radio referendum aftermath shows to explain to us why we voted no. Apparently, we were looking for further concessions, but with tax harmonisation already conceded, neutrality guaranteed and euthanasia dead what more could we possibly ask for?   One aspect of their analysis might have been interesting had [...]

Which are…

The Yes Campaign people were so busting-their-guts about Declan Ganley’s success in effectively communicating legitimate concerns about the substance of the Lisbon Treaty they resorted, as all pseudo-intellectual elites do when the hoi-polloi are in danger of thinking for themselves, to the Mud Raking Conspiracy. Apparently, because Ganley once met a retired mid ranking US [...]