Does it matter how Sinn Féin organises itself?
Joe Joyce wrote here on Monday about Sinn Féin participation in government. And his opinion piece drew the usual reaction from on-line readers who use anonymity to hide their membership of a well-drilled phalanx of trolls. No surprise there. His central thesis – that Sinn Féin is not, and will not be, a conventional democratic […]
Covid controls should err on the side of keeping society open
When I wrote here last week on the issues of tobacco, alcohol and the State’s public health policies and priorities, I touched on a deeper question as to whether and how far it was legitimate for a liberal democracy to seek to control individuals’ behaviour in pursuit of general health outcomes by law. Can people […]
Anti-alcohol law contains some utterly ridiculous legal provisions
The HSE is supposed to be dealing with the Covid emergency on our behalf. But that does not mean that other health issues have gone away or do not need the attention of the political system, of the health system, and of citizens at large. When the Oireachtas was debating recent legislation on alcohol, it […]
Quidditch falls to earth with a show of intolerance
It being the festive season and goodwill abounding, I have decided to skate out on thin ice and to raise the alarming news that the powers that be in the sport of Quidditch have apparently decided to consider re-naming their game in an attempt to distance themselves from what they consider to be transphobic utterances […]
With challenges of conflict, climate and Covid, these are dangerous times
As someone who is firmly of the opinion that it would be a catastrophe if, by any chance, Donald Trump were to be re-elected in three years’ time, I feel that the current trend of US politics gives one the horrible sense of watching a proverbial car-crash in slow motion. Trump appears to retain a […]
Parliamentary oversight needed if Covid powers to be extended
I think I am not alone in experiencing a good deal of Covid news fatigue. The problem is that we feel collectively helpless as the infection rates defy predictions made 6 weeks ago by our experts. The present spike in daily projections will have hospitalisation consequences, ICU consequences, and, sadly mortality and long-Covid consequences. The […]