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

  “They’ve changed the arrangements that apply to coalition governments” … Brian Cowen on the Greens just now on Six One.  Apparently there’s an unwritten constitution for such governments.  His tone of lecturing the Greens on how government works is not going to go down well.   He is also mingling his roles of Taoiseach and [...]

It is argued that we must cut public spending in order to reduce borrowing and the deficit. However, there is rarely any evidence produced to show if this would happen and, if it does, to what extent. Assumptions and conjectures have replaced verification and demonstration. This is unfortunate for much of the evidence shows that [...]

Reports tonight on the pending reshuffle suggest that Green leader John Gormley might be set to step aside as Minister for the Environment to make way for Ciaran Cuffe as part of an ‘internal’ agreement among the greens made in 2007. According to the Irish Times and others, Green memebers were given to understand that [...]

The carefully phrased European Commission approval of NAMA under state aid guidelines is only the beginning of the process.  Bank of Ireland and AIB will still need clearance for the specific balance sheet clearance (NAMA sales plus capital injection) that are still to come.   In that regard, it’s important to look at the seemingly separate [...]

In what is more then likely just a PR stunt Fianna Fails Marie Hoctor told the Nenagh Guardian. that she will not vote in support of the Government’s budget this Wednesday in the absence of certain commitments in relation to issues in her constituency. Ms Hoctor indicated that she was growing disillusioned with the direction [...]

It is interesting to counterpost the wisps of information on an emerging deal with the unions and what we appear to have learned about the budget earlier this evening. Union sources said the Government had acknowledged that enough progress had been made in talks on an alternative solution to the Government’s pay cuts proposition to [...]

We’re used to politicians behaving badly. That’s a constant. Then there’s the bankers, the bishops, the lawyers, the doctors, all of whom at some point or other in the recent history of the civilised world have been found wanting. Now it’s the turn of the scientists.

The first round of CAO offers went out today, but those who have done well enough in their Leaving Cert to proceed to university may be the last ones to do so for free. The return of fees was probably inevitable even before the economy ran dry. Even so, the performance of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) on the issue over the past year or so is [...]

A spokesman for the Garda Representative Association speaking 0n Newstalk’s Lunchtime with Eamon Keane today said young gardai would be more  susceptible to bribery if they were paid less. Newstalk don’t podcast their shows so I can’t quote the GRA man directly, his basic argument was “cutting the pay of young guards would make bribes [...]

It’s been a while since I’ve brought you news on a Bertie earner – being the recession and all I suppose times are tough for the Iar Taoiseach and the way he might scratch a few euro to make up for his pension levy losses. However news reaches us today of Bertie Ahern’s signing as [...]

In Evert’s recent post on the Lisbon Treaty he finished on a point that jarred me. He ended the post with the following There is no (real) need to expand the powers of the EU government and limit those of the individual national governments. Now nothing in the EU limits the work of the national [...]

A commenter on my blog pointed to a Wikileaks document I hadn’t seen before, and I believe has not received widespread attention. Full PDF. It includes the page below, which refers to developer Sean Dunne’s liabilities to Icelandic bank Kaupthing. The bank was sort of like Ireland’s Anglo Irish. It was nationalised last year. The [...]

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 [...]

Mr Justice Peter Kelly from the Commercial Court.  Read his in-depth demolition of the Liam Carroll companies’ bid to keep out the receiver being sought by ACC.   And he managed this level of analysis in just the couple of weeks since the ACC action started.   Or, if NAMA is going to take too long, why not get [...]

Someone has finally reported on the contents of the Moriarty Tribunal’s Preliminary Report – it has been under media embargo since November. Mark Tighe of the Sunday Times interviewed Denis O’Brien who helpfully revealed some of the embargoed contents. The story is summed up in the opening two paragraphs (a sign of a well-written piece) – [...]

It took some time to read and digest the full 300+ page Leas Cross investigation report. In the deluge of An Bord Snip coverage it made sense to leave a post until this morning. In the cold light of morning the report is worse than the initial impression my dulled senses took. There are a [...]