Short-termism of National Broadband Plan is typical of this government
Just as we thought that the National Children’s Hospital massive cost over-run might have been a one-off from which the Government and the permanent government in the civil service would draw a serious lesson, we see the Government over-ride the advice of its most senior financial civil servant, Robert Watt, against committing to the national […]
Government must tackle the growing crisis in our prisons
Charlie Flanagan holds one of the most difficult posts in our cabinet. Every day, some new issue confronts him and nearly always there is little or nothing he could have done to avoid that confrontation. His department has a very wide range of responsibilities from immigration to crime to the courts system to law reform […]
The ill conceived Judicial Appointments Commission Bill is a solution in search of a problem
Our judiciary has served the country and the people well since the enactment of the Constitution. Our judges, men and women, have been incorruptible, independent, and loyal to that Constitution in accordance with the declaration they make before assuming office. The Constitution clearly provides that the function of selecting eligible persons for appointment as judges […]
There is only one road for republicans to travel – the road of reconciliation
A republican Easter Message is due this weekend to those who use or who glorify violence in the North. “You are not republican. You are not creating the Republic of Tone or Davis. You are defiling their memory and their patriotism. You are damaging their ideals and undermining their goals. You are not an army. […]
We need a vision for Dublin with people and agencies who will implement it
Dublin’s skyline bristles with cranes these days. It echoes the scene at the height of the height of the Celtic Tiger building boom. But the similarity is superficial. Most of the cranes are located on building sites for offices, hotels and tax-driven student accommodation. Home building is very much in the back seat – at […]
A panicked political decision on Metrolink
The MetroLink madness is continuing. Our Taoiseach says he is open to re-routing the southern end of the proposed Metro line from Swords and the airport so as to serve the suburban areas area from the city centre via UCD Belfield to Sandyford. But is this just political palaver designed to defuse the Metrolink controversy […]