JM Synge looked out on the Kerry countryside, and the playwright and poet was overwhelmed with romanticism for the Kingdom.
“One wonders in these places why anyone is left in Dublin, or London, or Paris, when it would be better, one would think, to live in a tent or hut with this magnificent sea and sky, and to breathe this wonderful air, which is like wine in one’s teeth.”
Through his industrious efforts to make sure everyone can experience that same metaphorical tannins-in-your-teeth Kerry experience, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Michael Healy-Rae has won an argument with the Government to not impose new restrictions on short-term lets on medium-sized towns such as Killarney.
The surprise rowback yesterday on a plan to enforce stricter rules on towns with populations of more than 10,000 – replaced instead with a much higher cap of 20,000 or more – came as a surprise.
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As Jack Horgan-Jones reported last night, “owners of properties in the short-term letting market who do not have planning permission could be given extra time to become compliant under a new regulatory regime being introduced by Government”.
The new policy, which the Opposition claims is effectively a gutting of what were laudable plans to crack down on Airbnb-style lets to increase housing supply, could be risky for the Government.
It’s liable to be perceived as a policy that favours people with two houses over people who have none. It’s coming at a time when the Government is actively trying to make private market rents higher for Airbnb hosts who would become landlords, and it could be combined with last year’s cut of a VAT rate to 9 per cent to make an argument that the Government cares more about the corporate interests of the hospitality sector than the interests of people caught in the homelessness crisis.
The argument presented by Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke that many towns now don’t have hotels and so need short-term-lets only invites voters to interrogate why that is. Many would point to the number of hotels that are being contracted for international protection, which is also perceived as the fault of the Government.
Even the short-term letting sector is still confused about the proposals, which some could argue were poorly explained yesterday. Not Healy-Rae, though. In a radio interview yesterday where he waxed lyrical about the Government’s housing ministers, James Browne and John Cummins, (“wonderful people”), he told Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin that if he didn’t understand the policy “that’s on him, that’s not on anybody else”.
I have an analysis piece online this morning about how it all came about.
Defence Forces strength
One of our main stories today is an interesting read from Conor Gallagher, who says the Government is considering plans to fast-track citizenship for immigrants who complete military service in Ireland.
Minister for Defence Helen McEntee brought a plan to Government yesterday to try to increase the capacity and capabilities of the Defence Forces, a long-standing issue that becomes more germane the more the global security environment changes.
Increased recruitment will be pivotal for the Government, which is already conscious that a tribunal has had to be set up to grapple with allegations of a poor culture within the military when it comes to claims of abuse.
Conor writes about plans to allow foreign nationals to become naturalised citizens after serving in the military for a number of years, and waiving the standard fees for citizenship applications.
A version of this policy already exists in the UK, and the same proposal was recommended in a 2022 Commission on the Defence Forces report. That same report said that there needed to be more of an effort made to diversify the Defence Forces. McEntee told journalists yesterday that trying to increase the recruitment of women was also a Government priority.
The Best of the Rest
Jack Horgan-Jones has a curious tale about how Government officials had to engage in “protracted” correspondence with the State’s special rapporteur on child protection, to try to chase up delayed annual reports. A cathartic read for anyone suffering from deadline anxiety.
Pat Leahy reports on the complex issue of policies for preferred pronouns in schools.
Sarah Burns writes about how the second iteration of the Basic Income for Arts programme is going down badly with those currently in receipt of it. Those who had been in the pilot scheme will now have that support dropped, and will have to reapply.
And Kitty Holland reports on how the survivors of the 1981 Stardust fire first found out about a new ex-gratia payment scheme from The Irish Times yesterday rather than from the Department of Justice. Survivors have described the scheme as “absolutely horrendous” and a “fiasco”.
Best Reads
TDs will be voting tonight on a motion on Bord Bia. Chair Larry Murrin was regarded by most dispassionate observers to have defended himself well at an Oireachtas committee last week, memorably telling politicians that the only person he takes ultimatums from is his wife. Miriam Lord writes today about how some rural politicians still have the Dawn Farm Foods boss in their crosshairs, with Richard O’Donoghue of Independent Ireland casually claiming on the floor of the Dáil yesterday that Murrin is engaged in insider trading and “cartelling”. A verbal shemozzle ensued.
Not to “Labour” a metaphor or anything, but Mark Paul’s London Letter today is about how the physical institutions of British politics are falling apart.
The Taoiseach was a little bit testy yesterday when questioned by journalists about whether he will use the St Patrick’s Day visit to the White House next month to raise concerns about Irish citizens who have been arrested and detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). Micheál Martin, the pragmatist, was at pains to point out that the “undocumented Irish” was a cause Ireland has been championing since long before Donald Trump became president – but you could argue that this is an altogether different state of affairs now. Kathy Sheridan uses her column today to argue that a line has been crossed, and that presenting a bowl of shamrocks to this US president is now an act of debasement.
Playbook
Dáil
9am: Topical Issues
10am: Private Members’ Business (Independent Technical Group) – Motion on flood prevention
12pm: Leaders’ Questions (Sinn Féin, Social Democrats, Independent and Parties Technical Group, Independent Technical Group)
12.34pm: Other Members’ Questions
12.42: Questions on policy or legislation
1.12pm Bills for Introduction: Education (Medical Emergencies in Schools) Bill 2025 – First stage
1.17pm: Government Business: Statements on the report of Operation Kenova
4.42pm Government Business: Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024 – Amendments from the Seanad
(Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration), (to conclude within one hour)
5.42pm: Deferred Divisions: Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 – Second Stage
6.02pm: Government Business: Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 – Committee and remaining stages
11.02pm: Deferred Divisions: Regulation of Drones Bill 2025 – Second Stage (Amendment)
Motion on Bord Bia (Amendment)
Motion on cost-of-living crisis (Amendment)
11.32pm: Dáil adjourns
Seanad
10.30am: Commencement Matters
11.30am: Order of Business
12.45pm: Government Business: Air Pollution (Amendment) Bill 2025 – Report and final stages
2pm: Private Members’ Business: Motion on maternal mental health supports
5pm: Private Members’ Business: Maternity Protection (Child Bereavement) (Amendment) Bill 2026 – Second stage
7pm: Seanad adjourns
There are a broad range of issues being considered by politicians on the various Oireachtas committees today, from nightlife to the primary school curriculum to food labelling. You can see the full schedule here
