Opinion Editorial

Editorial

Editorial: 'UK parliament must solve May's dilemma or risk peace' 

The tumultuous and momentous sitting of the first Dáil a century on is being marked all over the country.

Moment of truth on Brexit arrives 

As the negotiations on Brexit enter a crucial and, probably, defining phase, the need for calm heads and wise counsel has never been more essential. The options available to the United Kingdom and the EU have been narrowed and more clearly defined by recent events in the House of Commons to the point that one of three outcomes now look likely: the current withdrawal deal, heavily rejected in the Commons last week, is revived and somehow secures the necessary majority support; the UK crashes out of the EU on March...

Editorial: 'UK's Parliament must assert control before it's too late' 

Suspension of reason can sometimes be a good thing, especially in theatre, and such escapism has an end - but not in Brexit.

Editorial: 'Dangers show it's time for a rethink of our food system' 

It was John F Kennedy who pointed out: "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

Editorial: 'May fiasco shows we must be ready for a hard border' 

Any delusions we had of putting the prospect of a hard Border to bed forever have been stripped away in Westminster. Truth doesn't change according to our ability to stomach it.

Editorial: 'Focus now for UK must be on avoiding no-deal crash-out' 

You know you are in a dark place when the argument centres on whether you were destroyed or merely defeated.

Editorial: 'Another defining week for Theresa May beckons' 

Theresa May's date with EU fate comes tomorrow and all the omens appear rather discouraging. She is most unlikely to get the necessary MPs' approval for her unloved EU-UK divorce deal and is...

Editorial: 'Consultation key on asylum issues' 

The suspected arson attack on a former hotel on the Leitrim-Roscommon border that was to open as a centre for asylum seekers has been rightly and widely condemned.

Editorial: 'US President is supposed to fix problems, not invent them' 

Those scratching their heads attempting to make sense of President Trump's behaviour can't agree on much.

Editorial: 'More pandemonium awaits amid unknowns of Brexit' 

Theresa May need only look in the driver's mirror to understand why the engine of government has come to a spluttering stop with backbenchers at the wheel.

Editorial: 'Gove and hague bring some sense to brexit absurdity' 

If it's true the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humour in it, then fair play to Tory Environment Secretary Michael Gove. He skittishly compared MPs waiting for something better than...

Editorial: If we value patriotism and courage, we must show it 

In the US infantry, it was said that anything under 10 miles was "almost there..."

Editorial: 'Lack of realism among many British MPs a bad sign' 

Bad news for many is that the holidays definitely end with a thud today. Worse news is that we still have all that Brexitology to garnish our January blues. Worst of all, there is no end in sight.

Editorial: 'Learning the lesson from economic past' 

There has been much doom-saying over recent months, a sense that we are somehow fated to repeat the mistakes of the relatively recent and raucous past. It is not without reason. This...

Editorial: 'Brexit isn't fatal for EU but Ireland must brace itself' 

Even at this late hour there appears to be no end to what one British newspaper has described as the hallucinogenic phase of Brexit. Notions of clean breaks, with £39bn (€43bn) in the back...

Editorial: 'We've recovered well - but must not get carried away' 

He paid the price for being premature, but Enda Kenny's jarring 'Keep the recovery going' mantra has come to pass.

Editorial: 'As crises worsen, all smug ministers seem to do is spin' 

Governments with an unhealthy preoccupation with appearances develop a destructive habit of distorting realities.

Editorial: 'Fine Gael will pay the price if it can't fix housing crisis' 

New years are supposed to be about novelty, fresh starts and frontiers. If the Government had a foundry for panel-beating the dents out of promises that have been overturned, it would be very...

Editorial: 'We are enjoying the best of times - let's avoid the worst' 

Just as we are beginning to emerge from the aftershocks of a harsh economic decade, we understandably dislike hearing that hints of economic storm clouds are yet again detectable...

Editorial: 'Scandalous cost of State projects' 

The scandalous overrun in the National Children's Hospital is the latest example of the cost of such major State capital projects spiralling out of control. Now heading for €1.73bn, when IT and...

Editorial: 'Robinson put herself in eye of storm with princess visit' 

They say the work of diplomats continues even as others fight - clearly not everybody needs to be in the firing line.

Editorial: 'Timely reminder of how grim Anglo-Irish relations can be' 

A female British prime minister greatly at odds with her difficult and inflexible Irish counterpart.

Editorial: 'We must stop shrugging off threat of climate change' 

Inertia is a disastrous response to an alarm bell. Yet since 2001, when a study from the Department of the Environment first suggested that 27pc of our coastline was at risk from coastal erosion,...

Editorial: 'St Stephen's lasting legacy gives us pause for thought' 

GK Chesterton loved to recall the "beautiful intentional paradox" on which Christmas is built; the celebration of the homeless in every home.

Editorial: Love weighs greater than all the gifts we can bestow 

Tidings of joy are easier to appreciate warming your hands before a fire than in a city doorway that has become your home for the night. The season of goodwill should allow the gift of time...

Editorial: 'Whole and round, beautiful and small' 

On Christmas Eve 50 years ago, on what was the first human journey to another world, astronauts aboard the Apollo 8 mission to the moon captured this truly astonishing photograph, which...

Editorial: 'Golden Light of Christmas shines down the millennia' 

This week a small pencil of golden light illuminated the chamber in Newgrange, reminding us of a miracle of ingenuity; a gift from our ancestors 5,000 years ago.

Editorial: 'Only UK can dig itself out of the dark hole that is Brexit' 

Diamonds, they say, are made under pressure until it is their time to shine. If there is any lustre attached to Brexit it is impossible to spot, even on the darkest day of the year. All hope seems to...

Editorial: 'May's 'call-my-bluff gambit' fraught with Brexit danger' 

Seasoned poker players appreciate that if you look around the table and can't tell who the sucker is, it's most likely you.

Editorial: 'Vigilantes must be defeated as rule of law is paramount' 

Imagine a scene whereby a High Court issues an eviction order over outstanding debts. A security firm is hired to take possession of the house.

Editorial: 'Tale of two Irelands has left too many in poverty' 

Stories come in many forms making for a welcome distraction; that's why we love them, especially at this time of year.

Editorial: 'Political maturity most welcome' 

The decision of the Fianna Fail leader, Micheal Martin, to extend for over a year the confidence and supply deal which supports the Fine Gael-led minority government is a wise and welcome...

Editorial: 'Century of progress gives us no right to be smug' 

The election of 1918 was a watershed: paving the way for the first Dáil, the coming of Sinn Féin, and enfranchisement of women. Yet Constance Markievicz, the first woman TD and MP elected,...

Editorial: 'In the storm of Brexit, our Backstop is best insurance' 

A fleeting glance at the political wreckage in Westminster and the obliteration of reason makes an irrefutable case for the backstop.

Editorial: 'Tories need to listen to the bard, not their own fiction' 

For all the problems raining down on the head of Theresa May, she takes consolation in knowing her enemies look weaker still.

Government must prepare for what might happen next 

It says much about the position of Theresa May, with seemingly nothing left to lose, that she went on a whirlwind tour of Europe, and lost again. Devoid of a national consensus, or any...

Editorial: 'Abandoning vote on Brexit deal smacks of desperation' 

There may be a risk of further frying the brains of the nation with Brexit information overload.

Editorial: 'That Brexit 'date with fate' has big implications for us' 

The people are understandably Brexit weary. But after two-and-a-half years of phoney war, this issue has finally reached its decisive phase.

Editorial: 'Merkel shows Trump the way' 

'If our leaders seek to conceal the truth, or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to...

Editorial: 'Brexit backstop discussion is far from finished' 

Not by a long shot is it over yet.

Editorial: 'A bodyblow to confidence in battered health system' 

The fallout from the cervical cancer scandal continues. A new 'wonder drug', which campaigning patient Vicky Phelan believes saved her life, could be freely available to everyone with cervical...

Editorial: 'We won't get fooled again on economy. Or will we?' 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Editorial: 'Fixation on CAO form is too narrow a view of education' 

A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.

Editorial: 'Time for a re-think as Nama is adding to housing woes' 

Back in a very recent and very grim time, the then-government announced the creation of the National Assets Management Agency, or Nama as it is universally known. It began life in late 2009,...

Echoes of bust to be heard in boom 

We live in a society, not an economy, the argument goes. A fuller truth, however, is that a modern society needs an economy to prosper and a modern economy needs a stable society to function. In the decade during which the economy failed, society suffered greatly through the implementation of harsh austerity. During those years, there were times when the normal functioning of society was threatened. Thankfully those days, by and large, have passed, although the ills within society are still far from settled. It is to be...

Editorial: 'Taoiseach must begin to lead and stop playing to gallery ' 

The most consistent criticism of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been his inability to look past his public image.

Editorial: 'Rural Ireland can and must fight back to thrive again' 

It is a good thing you can't buy a pint or get a hair cut online: the main streets of too many rural towns and villages would be all white-washed windows, were it not for the publican and hair-...

Editorial: 'If crash happens, Donohoe can't say he wasn't warned' 

'Prudent Paschal' doesn't quite cut it for street cred, but it's a nickname the Finance Minister carries with pride. Where once we enjoyed seeing our money men splash the cash, most families...

Editorial: 'Beating Brexit depends on broadband plan - roll it out' 

Sometimes it can be good news when nothing is found, even after extensive searching. Independent auditor Peter Smyth's announcement the National Broadband Plan (NBP) was not undermined or...

Editorial: 'Sinn Feín should stop copping out and make a difference' 

IT must be a puzzling thing to be a Sinn Féin representative and be required to respond differently based purely on which ear is being addressed.

Editorial: 'Tax cuts welcome, but services needed' 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made a bold declaration at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis last weekend, in what has been correctly interpreted will be central plank in his party's manifesto ahead of the next general...