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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence this morning had a superb roundup of the Ryan commission report and the fallout from it, with a comprehensive panel discussion (segment begins 33 minutes in).  The panel discussion made news with an apparent nod from the hierarchy that the 2002 indemnity deal will have to be reopened.  A nod that [...]

A short post about a dreadful juxtaposition: why did Louise O’Keeffe have to endure huge suspense about whether she was liable for the State’s legal costs in her failed child abuse liability case when on the same day that she finally gets off the hook (the Supreme Court showing sense), we learn that the Ombudsman [...]

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 [...]

The term “public health” is used in various ways but one important meaning refers to the system that monitors for emerging health risks in the population and reports them to an authority that can do something about it.  We’ve traditionally thought of this as the key mechanism for control of infectious diseases: people start showing [...]

USI is reeling from a massive internal coup this afternoon as both plotter and president have fallen on their swords. A letter from earlier this week addressed to the President and listing a litany of failures, sparked some furious debate on politics.ie which has been followed up by confirmation from David Cochrane, editor of P.ie [...]

Maybe we should have called the blog IrishElections.com.  Bertie has indicated today that he envisages 2 referenda next summer: the necessary ratification of the EU amending treaty, and the children’s rights referendum.  As he says the logic is to roll them together, but it does make one wonder what exactly the rush was for the latter back [...]

Fine Gael’s outgoing TD for Cork South Central and standing MEP for Ireland South spoke to us while wrapping up his day of canvassing in Douglas, Cork. [display_podcast] Previous: Fergus O’Dowd, Eamonn Ryan, Eric Byrne, Ciaran Cuffe, Ruairi Quinn

(Originally posted on AdamMaguire.com) I’ve had more than a passing interest in politics for many years now and I’ve always believed that young people need to engage and be engaged in the larger political discourse. I believe that the main instrument of youth participation within Ireland’s political parties, the youth wing, is actually counter-intuitive and [...]

One of the worst acts that this government has done is said that it will cover much of the catholic’s church’s cost in clerical sex abuse compensation deals with the liability of the catholic church being capped at 128 million euros. While we the people who did little wrong will possibly be forced to pay [...]

The drug testing petition got a mention in the Independent today.. SINN Fein is mightily relieved that its Kerry TD Martin Ferris was finally found to be under the drunk driving limit.But politicians in the Dail who like to skull a few pints, and possibly inhale some of the wacky baccy in the gents, may [...]

As if Bertiegate didn’t have enough tentacles already, the Irish Times reports (subs. req’d) on Albert Reynolds putting another cat among the pigeons with his reflections on the events precipitating the collapse of his government over the Brendan Smyth affair.  Albert’s remarks provide valuable context on Bertie’s thinking in late 1994, but also need to [...]

You can sign the petition here.   New Door Step Challange.  If Enda Kenny comes to your door in the next few weeks. Say to him. Wait a minute. Go into your kitchen and locate some kind of plastic container. Then come back out to the door and ask him to piss into it. Now [...]

Back in February wanted to drug test children. Yet now in May I find no mention of it in their manifesto. Not one mention. Why the change Enda. Finally come to your senses? But what I did see in the manifesto We will scrap the charade of Budget Day and replace it with a modern [...]