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

Unfortunately I missed Questions and Answers last night, however today I was greeted by the nice news that I didn’t need to subject myself to the RTE media player when instead Simon and Suzy had liveblogged it using scribblelive.
It is a better, and briefer, programme for it. More of this will hopefully be available to [...]

A thread on boards.ie has been the source of some impressive citizen activism in the last week and it seems the campaign there is just getting started.
As some people already know, Dublin City Council recently signed a deal with advertising group JCDecaux which would see a number of advertising panels erected on the city’s streets [...]

I haven’t posted though its a topic I have wondered about for a while. Newstalk’s Brenda Power took to calling civil  servants in the HSE a while back in response to calls made to her phone-in show. Callers who had issues could expect them to be followed up by Power with calls made live on [...]

Brigid Laffan gives her analysis of the Lisbon Referendum in today’s Irish Times suggesting that we are in a minority of one, with scepticism rising about our commitment to Europe and the EU. Vincent Browne is not in agreement - it will plod along as usual.
I am minded to agree with him, it will be [...]

At various points this morning, Dermot Ahern former Foreign Affairs Minister, Micheal Martin current foreign affairs minister and Enda Kenny leader of Fine Gael have said that the vote is now almost certainly a ‘no’.
Martin on RTE Radio: “when you are explaining your losing” “its not looking good for the Yes side”
Dermot Ahern: “from my [...]

Wednesday’s Irish Independent is a case-in-point for those of us who suspect the press of siding with the Establishment against the people over Lisbon. With jobs losses growing by the week, they cynically attempt to link the issue to the possibility of a “No” vote to the June 12th referendum. This article is pure facile [...]

Ruth Dudley Edwards is blogging the Referendum at The Specatator and her initial post is, as ever, thought provoking.
It’s largely a class thing.  The posh are pro and those in fear of bad times are anti.  If – as looks likely – it’s a No, it’ll be the politicians wot lost it.
I think that is [...]

An interesting clash of interpretation on the widely discussed style of the new Taoiseahc. For Pat Leahy the new style is “clear thinking and firm decision-making”. For the Sunday Indo, it is “authoritarian” and “stalinist”. An enigmatic man.

Not a phrase I find myself uttering that often, but publishing the consolidated Treaty (as I understand it) tomorrow in the Sunday Times is a masterstroke. Whether folks read it or not, it raises awareness it exists and could influence votes. Though none of us impune any motives to editorial teams at News International, the [...]

Following in Young Fine Gael’s footsteps, the Labour party have announced a competition with a €1,000 prize for a 1 minute video extolling the virtues of the Lisbon Treaty. Unfortunately for the likes of me, while it appears to be open to raving right wingers, it is confined to those in second and third level [...]

There is a quickly growing consensus that the Mahon Tribunal will be little more than a footnote - albeit a very unsightly one - in Bertie Ahern’s legacy.
However while there is little doubt that Ahern has done the State enough service to be remembered fondly, his most loyal supporters worryingly seem to believe that this [...]

Reinstating the popular blog-roundup from the election for one night only to take a look at how today’s news was met in blog-land. Take a gander at Jazz Biscuit too in case I missed anything.
Ciaran Cuffe and his Green Party have come in for immense amounts of stick since going into government (even today, suggestions [...]

*it wasn’t really. Nor the entire media for that matter. It has been de rigeur for defenders of an Taoiseach in recent times to present the media as the enemy here. If it were not for them this would not be an issue, Ahern and his Ministers would continue to govern in their efficient inimitable [...]

Breaking: Bertie Ahern to resign Tuesday 6th of May.
10:30am: Bertie Ahern has announced a last-minute, unexpected press conference to be held before his statement to the Dáil.
Reports on the substance are mixed although many outlets are suggesting that a resignation date, or even an immediate resignation from the leadership of Fianna Fáil, is expected.
RTÉ One [...]

A little less than a year ago, if you can remember back that far, we were all in thick of pre-election mania. Irish Election was buzzing with successive posts on the important matters of the day. Some were brilliantly incisive, bringing keen analysis far beyond the abilities of many journalist hacks, but most were just [...]

The bankers reassure us that “new lending continues to moderate in a mortgage market that is still growing in overall terms.”
Translated, this means that people, mostly young people seeking their first home, are flocking to buy houses at prices they regard as realistic. (Irish Independent editorial, 14 February, 2008)
So. The spinning continues.
The above quote comes [...]