Verona Murphy getting the Ceann Comhairle job was a sign of Michael Lowry’s political savvy
With no third party to disproportionately set the agenda or take the blame, the prospect of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parting as good friends at the end of the next Government will be more challenging
Independents TDs hold the balance of power. A lot hinges on Verona Murphy’s next move
With Labour divided and the Social Democrats sceptical, the focus is on a handful of Independents
‘Serial evasion’ and ‘brittle impatience’: Our writers give their verdict on the leaders’ debate
General election: Three writers analyse debate between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin
The false election promises being made to Ireland’s under-40s
Forget ‘one for everyone in the audience’, there’s two for everyone in the audience. Unless what you want is choice
With 2024 set to be the hottest year ever, why have plans for climate spending been put on hold?
Party leaders would not agree to allow Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan to bring plans to Cabinet for the deployment of a €3.15bn climate fund
Sinn Féin is on the back foot but that does not mean the Government parties are over the line
Election 2024 will still see the issues that concerned voters most in 2020
Simon Harris is making Micheál Martin look like the status quo. This is a problem for Fianna Fáil
Can the Harris surge survive the winter? Fianna Fáil may prefer to bet that it can’t
Gerard Howlin: We have learned nothing from the Celtic Tiger crash
Apart from the back of an envelope suggestion for a new Department of Infrastructure, there is little by way of new ideas on how we can do things better, as distinct from just spending more money
Ireland is doing the equivalent of using its credit card to pay for groceries
State’s immediate challenge is not money but capacity. We lack the people and infrastructure needed to match current demand
Taoiseach plans all-powerful Department of Infrastructure. What could go wrong?
The worst of all worlds would be a Department of Infrastructure which takes years to assemble but is several pistons short of being a full engine
Big problems cannot be magicked away by the Taoiseach’s emphatic statements
Simon Harris has moved ahead of his problems without necessarily confronting them. Now he’s in a race against time
The Sinn Féin surge is over and its fightback has hardly begun
Undecided voters, and those who make up their minds late on, will influence the outcome of the general election
Inheritance tax is a modest payback for a massive benefit
Cutting inheritance tax benefits the offspring of the generation now leaving property behind - and their parents already enjoyed mortgage interest relief in the past
Who is Jack Chambers? Nobody knows but we’re about to find out
The new Minister must use the pre-election budget to perform an interconnected series of balances
The question is not whether we decarbonise - it’s whether we do it quickly or get left behind
We need to stop talking about climate obligations and look at the opportunities