Opinion Editorial

Editorial

Politics a decade after the crash 

The effects of the financial crisis in 2008, the 10th anniversary of which is now, are still being felt throughout the world, Ireland included.

Trump visit and the right to protest 

The visit to Ireland by US President Donald Trump in November, as part of a European tour that would also see him travel to Paris for a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armistice after World War I, has given rise to calls for a mass protest from the public from several politicians,...

It's important for debates to be held 

Just a few weeks ago you could have procured generous odds that there would be no election and that Michael D Higgins would be returned to Aras an Uachtarain unopposed. It would be a coronation rather than a contest.

Actions will be test of new covenant 

In his speech to mark the visit of Pope Francis, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he believed that the time had now come to build a new relationship between church and State in Ireland, what he called "a new covenant for the 21st Century". It was his hope that the visit of the Pope would...

The Pope's visit and modern family life 

The visit of Pope Francis to attend the World Meeting of Families in Ireland next weekend has already become mired in the Catholic Church clerical child sex abuse scandal. That is to be...

Housing becoming a national scandal 

Seeing those young boys trying to sleep on hard chairs in a garda station was upsetting for many people and had the effect of making us think again about the homeless crisis. We have a housing problem and a homeless problem, caused by an inadequate housing supply to cater for a great...

Act now to atone for this great hurt 

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Health each favour a situation where the women adversely affected by the CervicalCheck scandal are afforded an opportunity "to establish negligence in a non-adversarial way, that doesn't involve a witness box in court and having to talk about your own...

Growing menace of anti-social crime 

Anti-social behaviour may be a complex problem which is best tackled at multiple different levels, but that should not be an excuse to continue to tolerate an issue which is on the rise again and causing untold misery to many people throughout the country. The causes of anti-social...

Let in the light on President's office 

As it now seems certain that there will be a presidential election later this year, it is a good time to state that the office of the President of Ireland should be absolutely transparent and, as it is the recipient of significant public funds, should no longer be exempt from the Freedom of...

Frictionless border solution on track 

It has been a good week for those who want to see a soft Brexit with a frictionless border between this republic and Northern Ireland and good relations between the UK and the EU maintained. The authority of the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been strengthened, notwithstanding...

Ireland should be UK's friend, not foe 

We will know more detail when the British government finally publishes its White Paper on Brexit later this week, but what has emerged from last Friday's meeting of Theresa May's cabinet is encouraging.

Europe must act on migration crisis 

European leaders have hailed decisions reached in marathon talks last week as a breakthrough in solving the "migration crisis" which has engulfed the continent. While some progress has been made, many issues remain outstanding, particularly the controversial question of refugee quotas.

Ireland must push for Brexit deal 

The visit of European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to Ireland last week, and the assurances he repeated in relation to the European Union's solidarity with this country in what are difficult Brexit negotiations, while obviously welcome have added to the appearance that...

Quotes of the week 

"Ian Paisley walked down to my mother's and father's graves. He knew they were in the republican plot, and he stood over them and said a prayer - I thought that was some twist to the guy."

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...

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...