We are in political denial of advanced administrative sclerosis
TDs of all parties and none heaved a collective sigh of relief when the Ceann Comhairle, Sean O Fearghaíl, commenced the new Dáil session by publicly distancing our elected representatives from the €336,000 cost of the under-used bike shelter constructed at Leinster lawn. The Oireachtas Commission, apparently, did not know of, or approve, the monstrous […]
Ireland must tackle the ‘pull factors’ that attract asylum applicants
The politics of the European Union are perplexing to say the least. The newly announced commission attracts media attention in much the same way as the Aintree Grand National. Silly, boastful claims by the parliamentary groupings in the EU parliament that they have done well or criticisms by the less successful that the gender balance of the commission is […]
Housing crisis will not be solved by Sinn Féin or coalition
In the wake of the €336,000 bike shelter scandal and the €13.8 billion Apple windfall, it is a dangerous time for pre-election promises and giveaway proposals. The real questions facing Ireland are about infrastructure. There is a huge gap in our infrastructural development. In a society with 5.3 million people, we need to invest in major infrastructural projects. It […]
€336k bike shelter cheap compared to proposed Leinster House library
Like most people, I was pretty shocked by the revelation that a very simple bike shelter on the Leinster lawn side of our parliament had cost the taxpayer €336,000. An online search shows a similar and perhaps more elegant structure, the Ark Cycle Shelter, available at a cost of €6,446.90 plus VAT. The area where the […]
Why is our infrastructure delivery worse now than in the 19th century?
Last week, Kevin O’Sullivan wrote here about the risk that Ireland might find itself a victim of heatwaves, droughts, and forest fires. Having spent this month in County Roscommon’s Shannon side, previous expert predictions that Ireland was more likely to have wetter cloudier if slightly warmer summers seemed a little more credible to me. Predictions […]
Our immigration challenges will not be solved by EU migration pact
Anyone who thinks that the issue of immigration is going to disappear politically and be eclipsed by other issues such as housing, climate change and taxation is, I regret to say, mistaken. The recent local and European Parliament elections seemed to demonstrate that there was no coherent groundswell of nativism and nationalism along the lines of the Reform party in Britain. There […]