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

Friday evening. Bank holiday weekend.  What better time for a document dump? We are now much closer to the “nearly 200″ figure for deaths of young people in some form of care/interaction that initially circulated in the media.  Not least because the 151 doesn’t include the earlier 37.   Apparently the post-18 years of age transition [...]

Minister for Environment and Local Government John Gormley has today published the two consultants reports’ into the planning and finance functions at the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (which were previously published in draft form by Fine Gael) and has also accepted — 5 months later — Fine Gael’s proposal that the DDDA should be subject [...]

Below the fold, the transcript of Leaders’ Questions on Tuesday 20 April.  The legal contortions that are required to reconcile Brian Cowen’s transparently untransparent answer with what we now know about Robbie Boucher’s early retirement provision are considerable — but then again not much more than what was on display from the law firm of [...]

HSE reports on deaths of Young Person A and Young Person B.   Young Person B  was named by Barry Andrews in Dail Eireann on RTE.   The reports are summaries and only hint at the disastrous care received by A and B.  One example from B – The independent living accommodation that was provided to Young Person [...]

From the ESRI Spring Bulletin – For 2010 and 2011, we have assumed that the Government will borrow €2 billion in each year to fund the recapitalisation of Anglo Irish Bank and INBS. This increases the exchequer deficit in both years by €2 billion, but it does not appear in the estimate of the General [...]

“We used to provide Irish developers with loan terms, but insist of due diligence. They would then go off to Anglo Irish and be given the cash with no need for any paperwork” As told to UK property expert Peter Bill. Incidentally, he thinks that it’s former Central Bank governor John Hurley who has big [...]

There are days when Ireland is a dispiriting place.  Consider the following three seemingly separate issues.  The HSE report into the life and death of TF.  Niamh Brennan’s still under wraps report on the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.  And the latest delay in the Moriarty Tribunal.  They have something in common: legal sensitivities are being [...]

There will be days of digesting the implications of the Willie O’Dea resignation.  Here’s a few impressions of where we are; doubtless others have their own.

There’s the old line about the Bourbons when they got back in power after Napoleon that “they had learned nothing and forgotten nothing”.  Then there’s Fianna Fail.  The Willie O’Dea confidence motion debate today was mercifully short because it showed a government that, after years of scandals and concerns about conduct in public office, has [...]

Willie is racing through a statement a few minutes ahead of schedule with a sullen Dermot Ahern sitting beside him.  Enda Kenny says he will move a motion of no confidence in him.  And now on to Labour’s bill to reform parliamentary inquiries.  At least someone is working on improving accountability. UPDATE: Much like Willie’s [...]

The Irish Times has an interesting two part series on the predicament of the Irish unions.  Today’s installment provides a good insight into the minds of the union leadership and in so doing illustrates the challenge of relevance.  David Begg and Jack O’Connor now say that after 20 years of Social Partnership™, all they ever [...]

If you have a few minutes, read the 2008 Annual Report of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.  The 1st paragraph – We will develop Dublin Docklands into a world-class city quarter, a paragon of sustainable inner city regeneration, one in which the whole community enjoys the highest standards of access to education, employment, housing and [...]

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 [...]

This might appear to be a little behind the curve, thanks to my first effort getting lost on the WP app. Anyway….. The response of Ceann Comhairle John O Donoghue to the reports of his extremely large expenses bills from his time in Arts, Sport and Tourism unveil a couple of things our erstwhile snippers [...]

So, ‘turns out that Denis O’Brien has done interviews with all the Sunday broadsheets, The Sunday Times was just the first to update its website, hence was the centre of all the talk online, including my earlier post. Yes, the O’Brien spin cycle has gone into overdrive. Apart from the (Murdoch-owned) Sunday Times’ interview mentioned [...]