Editorial

Looking for a light at end of the tunnel 

Authoritative analysis by the Central Statistics Office that the number of new homes built in the State has been overstated for several years by almost 60pc is dismaying but not surprising to the many engaged in the property market seeking to purchase a home, but neither should sight be lost of the fact that there has been an increase of 75pc in the number of new homes made available in the last two years, to almost 14,500 new homes built last year.

EU remains firm but fair on Brexit 

The European Union's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has systematically dismantled the United Kingdom's latest paper on its withdrawal from the EU and has stated, 10 months from Brexit, that more "realism" is required from the UK. On the British side, chaos rather than realism remains...

Economy good but caution required 

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development delivered a timely if not dire warning last week that property prices here "may increase more strongly" which would boost further construction activity in the near term but "may induce another property bubble" associated with a strong surge in credit growth. At this relatively recent remove from the economic collapse, reference to a ''property bubble'' is enough to chill even the most optimistic going forward. So the analysis should be borne in mind by the...

Referendum vote is major step forward 

It was the right thing to do. For too long, the good of the women of Ireland has been low on the agenda, and the result has been tragedies from Ann Lovett to Savita Halappanavar.

Will of the people must be respected 

After a fraught campaign, the country will vote this week on whether or not to delete the present Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution - the Eighth Amendment - which acknowledges the right to life of the unborn with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, to be replaced with a new...

The day Emma stopped our world 

There are moments when the testimony of an individual can be so utterly compelling that it has the power to stop a nation in its tracks and illuminate an outrage that is so devoid of common decency, so completely lacking in basic humanity, that the public as one demands immediate...

Two Irelands, one referendum divide 

Today's Sunday Independent/Kantar Millward Brown opinion poll highlights a divide of opinion in the country in relation to the issue of abortion, certainly, but it also seems to underline the emergence of what we might call two Irelands: an urban, liberal and a rural, conservative Ireland.

Vicky Phelan case a damning failure 

The shocking and tragic case of Vicky Phelan, the 43-year-old mother from Limerick who is bravely facing the most profound cervical cancer diagnosis following what has been correctly described as a "shameful series of events", raises the most serious questions firstly in relation to the CervicalCheck...

We owe women more than to merely marvel at institutional failures 

Responding to the news that hundreds of women may be ensnared in a living nightmare over smear test failures, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he did not want to condemn any individual. He would...

Leo the influencer in the land of the little people 

You imagine Leo will be pleased to be in Time magazine's list of the 100 most-influential people. Time may not be the force it once was, and most of us never read it, but we still pay attention...

Commemoration of 'Republic Day' 

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has set out the Government's intention to bring the State's commemorative programme to a close in what he calls "an upbeat and optimistic note" by celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Republic of Ireland coming into effect in 2024. In that regard he...

Trump's troubling chaotic Presidency 

In every way unimaginable, the US Presidency of Donald Trump is living down to and beyond worst expectations since his election to that great office last year in what are deeply questionable circumstances. His election remains under investigation, the outcome of which may yet...

Prudence still key for the economy 

Exchequer returns for the first quarter of the year showed solid revenue growth but there was also some cause for concern with a fall in income tax receipts in March, which is being put down to a dip in returns from the self-employed sector. Lower-than-expected income tax receipts have been a...

Lessons of the Belfast rape trial 

The Belfast rape trial has raised the most serious questions in relation to the sexual interactions between men and women, primary among which is the meaning of rape, which is sex without consent, and as a consequence of that, the meaning of consent. In recent times there has been a wider...

Let our children be... children 

In the Sunday Independent today, we focus on 'Reclaiming Childhood' with reference to a recent study in Ireland which has found that 89pc of adolescents have not mastered fundamental movement skills that would have previously been achieved by the age of six.

Why we must back our judge's ruling 

The importance of the decision by High Court judge Aileen Donnelly in refusing an extradition request from Poland, pending a review by the European Court of Justice, cannot be underestimated.

Mr Varadkar goes to Washington 

Today Leo Varadkar has begun a trip to Washington, his first as Taoiseach. Some would demand he take the opportunity to stand up to President Trump in the White House. Some would want him to raise the threatened imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium imported into the US.

Now that the storm has passed 

The national conversation will turn soon, if it has not already, into the state of preparedness for and response to weather phenomena such as Storm Emma and that which became known as the Beast from the East, both coming just four months after Storm Ophelia brought the country to a standstill.

Sinn Fein has duty on Brexit vote 

As the various twists and turns on Brexit continue to offer little by way of clarity, an argument is beginning to emerge from the more strident wing of the UK Conservative Party that the Good Friday Agreement has outlived its usefulness and should be dispensed with, an outcome which would, of...

Ireland 2040: a new beginning 

Ireland will be a different place in 2040 than it is today, just as it was very different 20 years ago. The National Planning Framework and Ten-Year Capital Plan, announced to such fanfare last week, is a reasonable attempt by the Government to anticipate what that Ireland will be like and to...

Adams's legacy is abject failure 

The Nobel Laureate in Literature, Seamus Heaney, was quoted in the presentation speech to award the Nobel Prize to John Hume and David Trimble in December, 1998, the year of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Heaney had used the fable of the hedgehog and the fox to describe the...

Property tax review must fix anomalies 

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe recently announced a review of the Local Property Tax which will, in particular, look at the potential impact of the tax in light of significant property...

The gunmen can't be allowed to rule by fear 

As the news of the latest gang murder was breaking, another victim was being buried yesterday.

Heal wounds and embrace optimism 

The famous US baseball player, Yogi Berra, perhaps better remembered for expressions, or turns of phrase that were memorable because they did not make sense, once said that predictions were difficult to make - especially about the future. His unintended wisdom should be especially borne in...

Cowed into subservience by the tech giants' dollar 

Every parent's worst nightmare used to be a phrase encompassing the horrific idea of a child being abducted.

Limbo of PPP schools casts doubt on model 

Only 18 months ago, the construction firm was worth £2bn (€2.29bn). Last week, Carillion was forced to announce that so dire was the state of its finances it would be liquidated, not put into...

We must see beyond EU fog to protect interests 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has got a welcome boost from long-time rivals in the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Delegates have voted to continue coalition talks with Ms Merkel's...

Ireland, changed for the better 

Ireland's political culture is the product of both the collective history of our political system and the life histories of the members of that system and, therefore, is rooted equally in public events and private experiences. Last week the country's two main political leaders made memorable, some...

An apology is worth nothing without action 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has offered an overdue apology to Joanne Hayes, the woman caught in the Kerry Babies maelstrom. Ms Hayes was treated appallingly by powerful actors of our State.

For SF to be relevant, it has to let go of the past 

The first rule of saying sorry is not to ruin it with an excuse, a temptation Sinn Féin's Barry McElduff couldn't resist when he resigned as MP for West Tyrone. The slaughter at Kingsmill was never a...

Pensions farrago just gets worse and worse 

We have known about Ireland's 'pensions timebomb' for quite some time. Successive governments have talked their way through a series of reports and reviews, inching towards some half-hearted,...

Crimes, damned crimes and Garda statistics 

All day long the news bulletins proclaimed a reversal in the burglary trend.

Celebrating curious and innovative minds 

It is time for the annual celebration of the curiosity and innovation of Irish teenagers that is the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE).

Sinn Féin MP's video was insensitive - and sinister 

Sinn Féin-IRA's kangaroo courts allowed child abusers to walk free and not be prosecuted by the authorities.

'Suds' was a proud Irish giant who strode upon the world stage 

Even if Peter Sutherland, who has died aged 71, had done nothing else in his action-packed life, he would be well remembered as the man who successfully led a drive for cheap air fares...

The failures of our ailing health service 

Whether the next general election takes place this year or in 2019 - or later, it may really only be a matter of months away. That is a relatively short time to get political ducks in a row. But what...

We ignore extreme weather at our peril 

Fear is supposed to be nature's warning system; when we ignore it we generally pay dearly, as we are beginning to learn with climate change. Concerns about potential risks from climate...

FG's bright ideas worth nothing if not delivered 

When he became Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar vowed to represent "people who get up early in the morning". The commitment appeared to be to shift the focus of policy back on to those in the...

Taoiseach must focus more on housing policy 

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has admitted the "success" of this Government will be determined by its ability to tackle the housing crisis this year.

The year gone by and the year ahead 

As we end one year and look forward to the next, it is time to take stock. In the round, it was a good year for Ireland relative to the year before and the year before that again.

Success of Mrs Brown is truly a phenomenon 

Listening to the blue-blooded queen's speech has long been an institution in the UK; so too, it appears, is listening to the true-blue language of Mrs Brown. Brendan O'Carroll's character has...

Government should be ashamed over housing 

The Government appears to have become imprisoned within its own comfort zone so far as confronting the housing crisis is concerned.

Trump is stoking fires where peace is needed 

It is indeed a strange world in which Bethlehem, birth place of the 'King of Peace', could be just 6km from Jerusalem, the city of what seems to be eternal strife.

Homeless faces shame our nation 'once again' 

Going from a property bubble to a homelessness and housing crisis, while enduring endless guff from the Government on great strides being made, it is pertinent to ask: why are 9,000 people still...

A mature debate for a mature society 

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution has sat for three months to give careful consideration to a Citizens' Assembly report and recommendations on a...

High and mighty O'Leary is brought down to earth 

And so it came to pass that Michael O'Leary, the self-styled Red Baron of cheap travel, has finally been shot down in flames, not by the tail gunners of rival airlines but by his own words.

Dáil's roll of dishonour is slap in face for homeless 

Many will have woken up yesterday to hear a 71-year-old man weeping on RTÉ as he told his story of preparing to be evicted days before Christmas. Two hours later, fewer than 20 TDs turned up to...

Respectful attitude is key in abortion debate 

Anyone who remembers the "keep your rosaries off our ovaries" rhetoric that characterised debate on abortion in the past will have to acknowledge that the highly charged atmosphere alienated, rather...

Ryanair passengers stand in line to suffer 

Ryanair looks like flying into an industrial thunderstorm and travel schedules are set to suffer severe turbulence. Michael O'Leary has always been a genius for engineering controversy and...

Not confused by UK's stance? You should be 

Lord Palmerston's declaration that "England has no eternal friends, England has no perpetual enemies, England has only eternal and perpetual interests," has hung in the air like a vapour from the vaults...

Our simple message for London: 'A deal is a deal' 

Before, during and especially after the Brexit referendum of June 2016, everyone on this neighbouring island has been aware of the deep divisions in British, and especially English,...