After a stormy week, at home, in the Dáil and in Washington DC, thoughts are slowly turning to what next.
At the time of writing, there were an estimated 300,000 homes and businesses around the country without electricity while close to 120,000 more were without water in the wake of Storm Éowyn, the worst storm to hit Ireland in decades.
Of these 300,000, more than 100,000 face having to wait for more a week for their power to be restored.
The impact of this storm, and the likelihood of more frequent “extreme” weather events fuelled by climate change, has significant implications for the provision of power, water and communications infrastructure, a significant item for the overflowing in-tray of the new government.
A record political storm also swirled around the formation of the new Government last week, and on Wednesday, for the first time, a newly-formed Dáil was unable to elect a Taoiseach due to a row over speaking rights.
The row centred over some of the Regional Independent Group (RIG) TDs – including Michael Lowry - who had struck a deal to support the government, being allocated speaking time along with other Independents, as though they were effectively on the Opposition benches.
With a Government now, belatedly, formed Cliff Taylor notes its formation has come in the wake of a dramatic few days in Washington, leading to renewed focus on the economic dangers facing Ireland.
But Taylor also urges a longer-term view. “Ireland is awash with cash and this new Government faces a historic opportunity to use this to push Ireland forward, economically and socially.
“Ireland needs to worry about Trump and set aside resources to deal with the possible fallout. But there is little point putting your entire strategy on hold on account of a US president who may not even know himself what he actually plans to do on the key areas affecting Ireland, notwithstanding the bluster of the last few days.”
Taylor notes that the job of the new government is to “use the bounteous resources the state currently has much more efficiently than its predecessor, and leave a real legacy of housing and improved social and economic infrastructure from this period of plenty. Using the fruits of current growth to lay the basis for the future makes perfect sense”.
He further notes that progress is unlikely with some spilled milk. “The Government is going to have to upset many of the people who voted for it, the comfortable classes and the Nimbys who don’t seem to want anything built. It needs to think of the under-35s scrambling to get houses, many paying crazy rents, and the need to maintain investment so that this generation can continue to get jobs. If it does not deliver, this generational divide will fester, with unpredictable consequences.”
The intractable issue of housing is also the focus of David McWilliams’ attention this weekend and he notes that the new Programme for Government “accepts that rising house prices are a given”.
McWilliams asks “who benefits from this” and also, where is the wealth created from higher property prices going –” Irish people or foreign investors?”
“Surely if Government policy can’t stabilise houses prices, it should – at the very least – ensure that the wealth accruing from house price increases benefits Irish people?”
In his column McWilliams questions why we allow foreign funds to buy Irish property. “If the country had no money and had to depend on foreign capital to build it might be understandable, but Ireland is full of money.
“Or, to put it another way, if we can’t stop house prices going up, should the Government at least ensure that the wealth finds its way into Irish hands? . . . After all, Ireland, with our huge deposit base, doesn’t need foreign capital. So why are we giving away the crown jewels?”
Five Key Reads
1) Joanne Cronin shares her experience of a retrofitting an F-rated three-bed, semidetached 1922s house in the Tenters in Dublin. “We prioritised an energy retrofit and sought recommendations from colleagues, leading us to a registered one-stop shop (OSS) with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).”
2) On the first anniversary of his death, Ian Bailey’s sister Kay Reynolds describes the impact on their family of the accusation that the west Cork-based journalist murdered Sophie Toscan du Plantier.
3) Keith Duggan looks at Donald Trump’s stunning first week back in the White House which shows he’s on a mission to leave a legacy. While regaining power has invigorated Trump, for the US president’s popularity at home to last, he will have to ensure talk of a golden age translates in into more money in the pockets ordinary people’s.
4) The story of the “GAA catfish” has seemed inescapable. First revealed by The 2 Johnnies Podcast two years ago, the saga yielded a recent update on the alleged catfish that has attracted millions of listeners and has reportedly led to complaints to the PSNI, writes Paul Colgan. In this case, the GAA catfish has reportedly targeted scores of people including GAA players, individuals in the entertainment industry and various Irish public figures.
5) The new Government finally came into power a day later than planned and just under two months after the general election on November 29th last. Marie O’Halloran reviews the new Ministers and their portfolios.
In this week’s On the Money newsletter, Joanne Hunt writes about car insurance and suggests that if you are paying more than €568 a year to insure your car, you may be spending too much.
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