Colette Browne

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion There is no hope if all we have to look forward to is permanent lockdowns

Last week, in an address to the Fine Gael parliamentary party, Leo Varadkar said the Irish people would demand an exit strategy if the country moved to Level 5. Well, we're here. Where is it?

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Support for businesses - but those on a precipice were forgotten in Budget

When the Covid-19 crisis is eventually over, what kind of society do we want to emerge from the ashes? A return to business as usual or something that is stronger, more resilient and fairer?

Tirade: Leo Varadkar didn’t just disagree with Nphet’s advice on Claire Byrne Live, he lit a bonfire under it. Pictured, with Dr Tony Holohan. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Instead of attacking Nphet for trying to tackle deadly Covid, perhaps ex-Health Minister Varadkar could consider why ICU capacity seems to be running out

Leo Varadkar has said it is time for the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) and the Government to "get back on the same page". That's the last thing we need.

Exit: Michael D'Arcy has vacated his Seanad seat to take up the position of CEO with the Irish Association of Investment Managers. Photo: Damien Eagers / INM

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Sipo watchdog has been barking for years - but politicians refuse to give it any teeth

Micheál Martin has called for a review of lobbying legislation after Fine Gael senator Michael D'Arcy resigned his seat to join a financial services lobby group. Perhaps Leo Varadkar should break the news to him: we already had a review. It was published in February.

Criminal: Damage to the artificial sports pitch at the Oliver Bond complex in Dublin. Photo: Mark Condren

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion If we're truly all in this together, those who flout Covid guidelines must be punished

Gardaí sprang into action on the first day of Level 3 Covid restrictions in Dublin, turning out in Dolphin's Barn in the south inner city in large numbers to man a checkpoint. At least eight gardaí were present on Saturday afternoon to stop cars, query motorists about their travel intentions and check the boot of their cars - in case Covid was trying to surreptitiously hitch a lift.

Face facts: Masks and visors for sale in Dublin city centre. Photo: Collins Dublin, Gareth Chaney

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Ignore the trolls - through individual action and collective power we can stop this virus

We are standing at a crossroads in our coronavirus response. On one side lies death. On the other, hardship but hope. The most important message delivered to the public yesterday did not come from members of the Government. It came from Professor Sam McConkey, the head of international health and tropical medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI).

Brussels veteran: Mairead McGuinness has been appointed European Commissioner for Financial Services. Photo: Collins

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Ireland needs all EU friends it can find and McGuinness's powerful voice will help

Mairead McGuinness is now one of the most powerful politicians in the country, having been chosen as Ireland's new commissioner and awarded an economic portfolio.

Empty seat: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks with former EU commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan back in December. Photo: Getty

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Government needs all the European allies it can get if Ireland is to survive Brexit

An insular focus on domestic politics, by a government in a perpetual cycle of damage limitation, risks undermining Ireland's influence in the EU.

Careful what you wish for: Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin at Government Buildings during government formation talks in June. Photo: Mark Condren

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion It’s hard not to feel empathy for Micheál Martin as chaos rages – but the buck stops with him

When Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael entered coalition for the first time it was hailed as a truly historic alliance. It has been – the most chaotic government in the history of the State.

Struggle: There has been little sympathy for young people, despite the huge impact of the pandemic on their lives. (stock photo)

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Young people are not pandemic villains - they are the victims and deserve support

Footage of a bartender dancing on a Dublin bar, pouring drinks from a bottle into the mouths of dancing revellers, which went viral over the weekend, was shocking - and reinforced the stereotype of young people as crazed hedonists partying through the pandemic.

Rushed return: Minister Norma Foley’s plan to reopen schools placed unrealistic expectations on principals and teachers. Photo: Frank McGrath

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Making schools safe to reopen should fall on the Government - not the teachers

When Education Minister Norma Foley announced her long-awaited plan to reopen schools, principals and boards of management were given less than four weeks to put that plan into action.

Not to be sneezed at: A man walks past an illustration of a virus outside a science centre in Oldham in Britain.
PHOTO: REUTERS/PHIL NOBLE

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion If 'we're all in this together', then all of us need to take that responsibility seriously

Dr Ronan Glynn, the acting chief medical officer, has said we should not attribute blame to any particular group for the resurgence of Covid, but there are individuals who are flouting the rules and putting those they encounter in danger.

Reason: Minister Heather Humphreys said those in receipt of welfare were being penalised because ‘we’re at a crucial stage in relation to the virus’

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion When it comes to travel, why is there one law for the rich and another for the poor?

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has denied his Government is unfairly targeting social welfare recipients, telling the Dáil yesterday that cutting the income of those who travel abroad is "not punitive". Really?

Stark reality: People take part in a protest on North Frederick Street in Dublin after an eviction in the city in 2018

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion New Housing Minister's great vision for the future - simply more of the same

The email the tenant received from their landlord on Monday was stark. Despite the rent being up to date, the eviction was set to take place within 24 hours.

Leader: Micheál Martin, on his way to Cabinet yesterday, has seen his first few weeks in office marked by controversy. Photo: Collins

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Since staggering back into office, Martin and Fianna Fáil seem hell-bent on self-immolation

Ordinarily, when a political party is returned to government – particularly in the wake of a recent election which nearly decimated it – its members express joy, pride and gratitude. But, then, Fianna Fáil was never an ordinary party.

Past becomes the future: A child sleeps on the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin. Now is the time for our politicians to pay heed to children

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Childhood poverty casts an irreversible shadow - the Government has been warned

COVID-19 may not pose a deadly threat to children's health, but the lives of the most vulnerable children may yet be permanently blighted by the virus.

Stepping up: Helen McEntee is only the fourth woman to have been appointed Minister for Justice. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Just four women in Cabinet shows parties still paying lip service to gender equality

The honeymoon period for the new Government lasted barely two hours on Saturday, before Dara Calleary was inexplicably shafted by Micheál Martin and all hell broke loose.

Reality: Green Party leader Eamon Ryan with Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney and Paschal Donohoe at Government Buildings. ‘Politicians are arguing about who should grasp the steering wheel before the country goes over a cliff’. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Voters won't forgive the politicians if they don't stop their 'messing and slobbering'

You are not alone if you have felt an overwhelming urge to pinch yourself while listening to political interviews lately. Are they dreaming? Are we?

At the gates of power: Catherine Martin and Eamon Ryan outside Leinster House. Photo: Tom Burke

Premium

Colette Brown Opinion Greens have won talks battle - we'll find out if they have the stomach to win the war

Having spent six weeks negotiating a programme for government, one would have expected a modicum of enthusiasm from chief negotiator Catherine Martin for the agreed deal. Instead, the statement released by the Green Party deputy leader to mark the auspicious occasion had a funereal quality.

Childcare: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone published her plan but it was missing a funding package. Photo: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion There's more at stake in formation talks than bruised egos - time to put up or shut up

There is a tendency among political anoraks to reduce government formation to a puerile horse race in which politicians are the ultimate winners and losers.

The Late, Late Show: Leo Varadkar said a ‘hard deadline’ for government formation at the end of the month now exists. That deadline has always been there

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Time for talks is over - nation and health service are approaching critical condition

Talks between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party have now entered their fourth week, but the parties are still no closer to reaching a deal. In fact, the talks have only progressed this far because none of the contentious issues that could derail discussions have even been broached.

Lesser evil: Home-working has been disruptive but not disastrous – but essential workers have been abandoned. Stock image

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Until issue of childcare is addressed lives and livelihoods will be on hold indefinitely

In the 11 weeks since schools and crèches closed, the Government has broken every promise it made in relation to the provision of childcare for essential workers. Why should anyone believe its revised claims now?

Twitter fallout: Fianna Fail’s Barry Cowen (left) made comments online, and Michael McGrath. Photo: Collins Photo Agency

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Juvenile melodramatics reaffirm belief that some politicians still just don't get it

Some good news at last. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have kissed and made up after both parties threw an almighty strop over the weekend, which threatened to plunge coalition talks into disarray.

Alarming: Every week the suspension in cancer screening programmes continues, the backlog of cases rises by more than 11,000 patients

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Use empty private hospitals to get vital cancer screening back on track

The State acted quickly to prevent many thousands of deaths from coronavirus, but the threat of increased mortality from cancer and other serious illnesses now looms large.

The quiet man: Micheál Martin has been silent on finding policies that will give Fianna Fáil powerful bargaining tools in forming a government. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Grassroots will revolt if Martin can't spell out exactly what FF gets from coalition deal

Many have claimed the Green Party risks extinction it if enters a grand coalition, but Fianna Fáil faces a much bigger existential threat.

Pointing the finger: Leo Varadkar, with chief medical officer Tony Holohan, issued a stark warning to those breaking the rules. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Blame for extending lockdown lies more with State's response than a selfish public

Three weeks ago, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was horrified to hear that people in the UK were reporting their neighbours to the authorities for going on two runs a day or straying too far from their homes.

‘Planet Bertie’: Green Party leader Trevor Sargent with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (left) in 2006. Photo: Collins

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Smaller parties have a great opportunity - just don't over-promise or under-deliver

In 2007, then Green Party leader Trevor Sargent coined the phrase "Planet Bertie" to describe Fianna Fáil as a party that was "so strange and so alien to our sensibilities" that the two could never join forces in government.

Queue: Garda at a checkpoint on the N3 at Clonee ahead of the Easter weekend. Photo: Frank McGrath

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion We're all suffering with our own lockdown demons - so let's not be too quick to judge

As the lockdown drags on, the level of sanctimony in some quarters about people allegedly breaching social distancing guidelines is reaching epic proportions. Last week, those with holiday homes were public enemy number one. These selfish swine were apparently travelling from their palatial pads in Dublin to bijou cottages in some of Ireland's most scenic areas - carrying disease and pestilence with them in their vulgar Range Rovers.

Time for leadership: New Labour Party leader Alan Kelly has the chance to restore his party’s reputation – a chance he seems set to spurn. Photo: Tom Burke

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion As medics go into the trenches to fight for our country, many TDs head for the hills

The Ireland of today is completely unrecognisable from the country we all inhabited just a few short weeks ago.

Decision time: Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan and party leader Eamon Ryan. Photo: Caroline Quinn/PA

Premium

Colette Browne Opinion Greens must stop hiding behind crisis and get to work fighting for a more just society

It is now nearly two months since voters went to the polls in an election in which Covid-19 did not feature, even once. Since then, the world has changed and changed utterly. We don't know when, or if, it will return to normal.