Conor Skehan

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Conor Skehan Opinion No going back: Covid will drive growth of 'in-between' towns from Ennis to Arklow

Over the coming decades, the shape of Irish life will change. The year 2020 will come to be seen as a turning point, caused by the combination of Covid and Brexit, and we need to urgently prepare for our new lives.

'Successful cities are inclusive - the wider their diversity, the greater their attraction and resilience.'

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Conor Skehan Opinion Our cities will fail if we allow fads of the few to dominate

Are we losing sight of the reality that a city has no reason to exist if it is not a centre of business and commerce? Is it possible that the vitality of our cities is being strangled by a shallow, naive and essentially suburban vision of the city - as a place reserved only for the three safe 'C's - cafes, cycling and communities?

DANGER: Donald Trump is a skilled and cunning orator. Photo: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

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Conor Skehan Opinion It is a big mistake to avert our eyes from monsters and their rhetoric

Unprincipled popular orators are the fatal weak point of democracy. We ignore the power of emotional persuasion at our peril.

EU strategy will have a big impact on Irish farmers

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Conor Skehan Opinion 'Sleepwalking into the rewilding of Ireland'

Unnoticed and unchallenged, the EU proposes to change rural land management and 'rewild' large areas of Ireland. This could affect farming, food prices and the control of land. Are we sleepwalking into these changes, distracted while the Covid-19 battle rages?

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Conor Skehan Opinion Stressed, anxious and angry: where do we go from here?

We need to regain our previous clarity about what to do to remain safe from Covid-19. As school reopening approaches and many hope to resume normal working patterns, this is the worst of all times for a failure of national consensus.

'Long before classes begin, the movement of children to school creates significant challenges to social distancing.' Photo: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

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Conor Skehan Opinion We must ensure we get this correct first time

Going to school is a central part of our society. We need to stop and think more deeply about how it affects so many aspects of society before we make decisions about school reopening.

'The legal system is struggling to cope with the emergence of the need for technical evaluation, often caused by judgments of the European Court of Justice which follow the more rigid logic of a civil system - in comparison to the more practical, case-by-case approach of Irish common law' (stock photo)

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Conor Skehan Opinion Poor legislation the foundation of problems in planning system

There is such a long-established pattern of trying to change planning systems that it has almost become a sport - seemingly irresistible to politicians.

Westport, Co Mayo, has been highlighted by the
Heritage Council as an example of a town that has
worked to remain vibrant and true to its origins

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Conor Skehan Opinion The old ways are killing our towns - we have to move on

This August as we wander around on staycation, reacquainting ourselves with rural Ireland, many will wonder why more isn't done to halt the decline of our rural towns.

'A whole childhood approach to childcare could have benefits in all areas of our lives and the economy'. Stock Image

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Conor Skehan Opinion Daring to change how we care for our children could revolutionise all lives

We must take a long, hard look at what we mean when we say 'back to school'. Covid-19 highlights a reality that school, for many, has become as much about childminding as it is about education. Can our world of work survive unless our children are in school?

CAFE CULTURE: People dining out on Princes Street in Cork. Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

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Conor Skehan Opinion Harmony regained in the public realm - for now

Instead of constantly criticising public officials for mistakes and misdemeanours, let us try a different approach. Let us try recognition, praise and encouragement when they get it right.

ROARING 1920s: A period of great success after adversity

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Conor Skehan Opinion We can't get our old life back, but we can make the most of a new one

Will we ever get our old lives back? Will our jobs, our homes and the places where we live ever be the same again? What is there for us and our children to look forward to?

SHADES OF GREEN: The view towards the Skelligs in Co Kerry

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Conor Skehan Opinion Why local people need to be in charge of local issues

Let's have a minister for each county. Who wouldn't want to be the minister for Dublin, or Laois or Mayo?

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Conor Skehan Opinion Why local people need to be in charge of local issues

Let's have a minister for each county. Who wouldn't want to be the minister for Dublin, or Laois or Mayo?

O’LEARY: Ryanair’s business model is a long way from some 19th-Century craft-based model

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Conor Skehan Opinion Homespun focus ignores fact that big business is what we do best

The apparently progressive policies of Ireland's emerging political parties disguise very old-fashioned nativist tendencies.

'Poverty is little understood by many.' Stock picture

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Conor Skehan Opinion Poor are most at risk of the unintended consequences of new government policies

The Covid recession is likely to affect Ireland less severely than other advanced economies. Despite this, the disruption and the types of jobs and places that have been affected are likely to give rise to a pronounced increase in poverty that may prove persistent.

‘Movements are vulnerable to control by populists’

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Conor Skehan Opinion Righteousness is essential difference between fact and opinion

Mob activity - such as last week's tearing down of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol - has been a recurrent feature of history, often at critical moments of change. We have a word for such activists: iconoclast. In Greek, it meant 'statue-breaker' but today usually describes sceptical intellectuals.

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Conor Skehan Opinion The new best places to live as Covid-19 transforms property market

Within 18 months the global property market will be transformed. New post-Covid demands will rapidly emerge, while old certainties evaporate. Most of the changes will be existing trends that have been amplified and accelerated by this crisis, while a few will result from altered behaviour. These changes will have major implications for property markets, public finances, and the investment sector as well as housing.

Moving on: People on Dublin’s Grafton Street yesterday afternoon as Ireland moves through the phases easing restrictions put in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Brian Lawless

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Conor Skehan Opinion Fixing what's broken: We need to give priority to whatever creates the most jobs

Some economists claim that disasters are clouds with silver linings, because they stimulate new economic activity and create employment. Contrary to expectations, Covid-19 is going to result in significant increases in employment - which may even result in labour shortages and a return of inflation and eventually higher interest rates.

'In Ireland we have seen the State, for the first time, rapidly and extensively deploy its full financial and legal assets, almost as though in a time of war.'

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Conor Skehan Opinion We've all been good - but we're going to have to pay more taxes

When the Covid-19 death toll eases, we will certainly have to pay more taxes. How will the move towards being a higher-taxed economy affect politics and governance?

Boy's face, looking at camera, cropped view with digitally placed Ireland flag on his face. Stock picture

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Conor Skehan Opinion Doomsayers predict disaster, but what if they're proved wrong?

The media seems to be full of practitioners of the dismal science who are busy predicting how badly the world's economy will fare in the aftermath of Covid-19. You will find some of them in this paper today. What happens if they are wrong? Does anybody have a plan for success? Does anybody have a plan to accommodate a rapid recovery?

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Conor Skehan Opinion Our careful route to recovery will succeed by putting people first

The Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business contains everything that a recovery plan should have - not just in terms of actions, but more deeply in terms of values. It is a practical, undemonstrative document of who we are and what we value - all practical prose, no patriotic poetry.

While there are many potential advantages to homeworking, the disadvantages should not be forgotten. The last five weeks have provided the entire population with a chance to experience the down-sides of home working — for those lucky enough to still have work

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Conor Skehan Opinion As the city moves into our living room, our homes have become a national asset

The lockdown has accelerated a change that was already under way in how and where we work. These changes will require new thinking about planning and our personal lives. Are we ready for these changes?

Garda officers talk with members of the public as they conduct checks on pedestrians and motorists on O'Connell Street. Photo: AFP

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Conor Skehan Opinion When, and how, are we going to get out of this?

The Government will soon need to announce a date for a national restart. This could be as soon as May 30 and as late as July 30. Are we prepared for this?

LINK TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD: Postwoman Bernie Ronan delivers vital services such as mail to farmer Con Foott who lives in Robert’s Cove, Co Cork. Photo: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

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Conor Skehan Opinion This crisis shows modern Ireland adapting to become its own hero

Our response to Covid-19 offers an opportunity for Ireland to be its own hero. This crisis is an accelerant for recently emerging successful changes in our society. If we eventually succeed in managing this crisis well, then we must not lose sight of the reality that it will be an achievement by us all.

'The biggest lesson working in the aftermath of disasters is that the government itself is often the biggest obstacle to recovery.' (stock image)

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Conor Skehan Opinion We must prepare now for recovery - otherwise we will prepare to fail

International experience of the aftermath of disasters shows that well-intentioned government emergency measures are often the biggest obstacle to recovery.

'This is part of a persistent pattern of British political thinking that is hostile to government interference in society, even if it risks lives to sustain its rigid ideology. Of all people, we, in Ireland should know this because such thinking was the direct cause of the massive excess of deaths from the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s'

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Conor Skehan Opinion Tragic history repeated - but this time the UK is the victim

Hurricanes, earthquakes and pandemics are natural crises. The ancient origin of the word ''crisis'' means a ''sieve''. It occurs in many European languages from Greek krinein to Old Irish criathar. This word for separation implies a moment of decision, when different paths diverge, and a choice must be made.

Are we witnessing the erosion of expertise, or the democratisation of important knowledge, asks Conor Skehan. (stock photo)

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Conor Skehan Opinion Why society must stay alert to the halo effect

You are not alone, if you have ever found yourself listening to a famous actor advising you about an environmental crisis and thought, 'What the hell does he know about nitrate levels in lake waters?'.

'There is no reason to believe that this will change any time soon, unless we become infected with smug complacency, fashionable cynicism or ideological stupidity.' (stock image)

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Conor Skehan Opinion The Lucky Club - Why Ireland has demographics on its side

What do Ireland, the UK, France, Scandinavia and the US have in common, that China, Germany, Spain and Japan do not have? 'Population replacement' is the answer.

'Online mob rule is an increasing threat to mental health that has very real consequences in the real world.' (stock image)

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Conor Skehan Opinion We can’t change the internet, so we have to change ourselves

In Ancient Rome, magistrates were accompanied by burly men who carried symbols of their right to inflict punishment. These were bundles of wooden rods called fasces, from which the word ''fascist'' emerged in the early 20th Century, to describe those who believed that violence was an appropriate way to obtain and hold power.

Rallying the troops: Donald Trump gives a rousing speech to stir up the crowd during his election campaign. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Conor Skehan Opinion The danger of following feelings rather than fact

It is easy to forget that between 1915 and 1930 a wave of populism swept the world. We are no longer ruled by kings or churches; we have no vast landlords or centuries old empires. All these things were swept away by a new set of ideas, all based on strong feelings that inequities existed that could only be rectified by fundamental change.