Category: Politics & Economics
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Sinn Féin loophole could lead to Irish PAC funds
An edited version of this article first appeared in Village magazine. A loophole in a poorly drafted law allows a coach and four to be driven through the regulation of party political donations. Gerard Cunningham reports. With calls to review their policy on TDs and senators only taking the average industrial wage in Dublin because…
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Smithwick Tribunal: Gerry Adams row diverts attention from difficult questions
This article first appeared in the Belfast Telegraph, 5 December 2013 There’s a familiar pattern of political reaction when a tribunal reports on an investigation into Garda behaviour, fine-honed over the last decade as the Morris tribunal published eight reports into allegations of corruption in the force in Co Donegal. Politicians and senior officers will…
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Government concerned to deflect Smithwick report
An edited version of this article appeared in Village magazine, December 2013-January 2014 edition Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams did the State (or at least, its institutions) some service in the wake of theSmithwick tribunal report when he made some ill-judged remarks on Newstalk to the effect that the two RUC officers whose deaths were…
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FOI: Watch Howlin
The minister for public expenditure may be back, to undermine Freedom of Information. An edited version of this article appeared in Village magazine, December 2013-January 2014 edition Brendan Howlin was refreshingly frank. Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation, he declared, “provided an irritant for many of us. We get irritated when there are requests to see…
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Ireland nears end of Troika bailout
This article first appeared in the Independent (UK) on 13 October 2013 IN the lobby of a shopping centre in Kildare Town, a sign advertises a wedding dress for sale, long with three matching flower girl outfits. It is perhaps a sign of the times. Several of the units in the small centre are unoccupied…
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Labour want US-style political advertising
Sunday Times A Labour party delegation proposed the introduction of shorter US-style political advertisements in place of the staid party political broadcast format during a meeting with RTÉ executives in the dying months of the last government. “We feel that there is merit in shorter more frequent broadcasts. This is something that would be worth…
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End of the Line for the Blaney Dynasty: Three generations in Donegal politics
Donegal Democrat Niall Blaney’s decision not to run in the forthcoming general election for personal reasons means that for the first time in over 80 years, the Blaney name will not appear on a general election ballot paper in Donegal. Niall’s grandfather Neal, born in 1893, fought in the Old IRA as a commander during…
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Careful What You Ask For
Leinster Leader In the eight weeks since Martin McAleese appeared on the Late Late Show to launch ‘Your Country, Your Call‘, the website — designed to attract ideas to lift Ireland out of recession — has attracted over 4000 suggestions. However, the First Gentleman may not be so pleased once many of those brain waves…
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Downfall
Irish Daily Star Ultimately, it was Eugene Greene’s own sense of invincibility that was his downfall. Four days before Christmas 1997, the Donegal priest contacted a local detective Garda, John Dooley, to complain that he’s been threatened by a blackmailer. The semi-retired cleric didn’t say why he was blackmailed, but the detective soon found out:…
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Ganley ‘Comeback’
Irish Daily Star Declan Ganley may be about to launch a comeback campaign on the Lisbon referendum – three months after vowing he would quit politics when he failed to win a Euro seat in Brussels. The English-born businessman gave an interview to the prestigious Wall Street Journal earlier this week, labeling the repeat referendum…
