Gene Kerrigan

Leo Varadkar's comments on 'free housing' insulted many. Photo: Julien Behal Photography

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Varadkar’s politics of fear and insults

You will not be at all surprised to hear that last week, Mr Varadkar became angry with Sinn Féin. Mr V spends more time getting angry with Sinn Féin than the rest of us spend on eating, drinking and worrying about global pandemics.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Welcome to the Jim and James bit-players show

There’s Jim and there’s James. They’re both barristers. And they’re both involved in the current by-election in Dublin Bay South. They are minor figures on the political landscape, no better or worse than dozens of their like. Currently, they’re being crudely packaged and sold to us as major players, with crucial roles to play in political life.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Fake shock and anger on housing

The governing politicians had a problem last week — they had to look like they were angry, and they had to act like they were angry, but they had to ensure that nothing much changed. Well done, lads.

Ireland has had a housing problem for a decade but in recent days Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are panicking

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion The penny is finally dropping for the Profits before People alliance

There was a time when the Irish had no problem with building stuff. We were so good at it that we sent generations of our offspring to help the British and the Americans build their cities. Now we have a crisis — we haven’t enough dwellings for our people to lay down their heads in at the end of the day.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Data harvesting: Is it worse when Sinn Féin do it?

What is Sinn Féin up to with its computerised voter database? I think I know, and I don’t like it. Perhaps this frank quote from an activist will help:

Let's be blunt lads, you've had your day. Pictured, Micheál Martin

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Lads, it’s time you got the message – the Fianna Fáil party is over

This is embarrassing. For the past 10 years, the Irish people have been sending the same message to Fianna Fáil. And the party keeps pretending not to hear what the voters are saying.

RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme Prime Time has been given a new look

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion RTÉ reporting has had a revamp – would you like some panache with that crisis?

We need to talk about RTÉ news and current affairs. There’s something odd going on out there. And, no, this is not one of those complaints about how everyone in RTÉ is an overpaid Leo Varadkar fan.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Beware the fourth wave - aka the Fine Gael variant

Micheál Martin says we're in the "final stretch" of this pandemic. I don't know if that's true (neither does he), but it might well be. Certainly, the next couple of weeks are dangerous, with a possible fourth wave about to hit.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion A quiet phone call is all it takes in this great little nation

These days, they're coming in threes, the revelations about how things work in this great little nation.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Leaky Leo pulls a sneaky, but who cares?

Does anyone remember when Fine Gael was the "law-and-order party"? In those days, the party's ard fheis was awash with scowling people who emerged from the womb demanding tougher laws, longer sentences and the imposition of martial law on Dublin's northside.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion The colour of greed is pure shamrock green

We'll call him George, though he has never gone by that name. He had troubles long before he ever became a client of J&E Davy Stockbrokers.

Davy scandal needs to be laid out and publicly examined. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/ Photocall Ireland

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Dead Horse guy has nothing on Davy mob

Early last week, I was pretty angry about the photo of that eejit sitting on the dead horse. Horsey people kept saying what matters is how Gordon Elliott's behaviour gives the racing business a bad name. That is not what matters.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion We can't start dancing on thin ice now

Things are on edge, right now. And there's trouble ahead: two separate but related kinds of trouble.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Propaganda? No thanks. We're exhausted

Three things will decide how this goes, and right now two of them are in rag order.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Minister Eamon Ryan. Photo: Julien Behal

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Image merchants don't cut it in a pandemic

Are you totally confident that the Martin/Varadkar Government knows how to deal with the pandemic crisis?

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Moaning Mick full of dangerous hot air

In our hour of trouble, must we still put up with the insipid buffoonery of Michael O'Leary, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Whinge?

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Lockdown hokey-pokey needs a shake-up

The EU behaved stupidly on Friday. The vaccine distribution is a mess. Political leadership on both parts of this island and farther afield has been weak.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion No room for game-playing in context of Covid

The Government got a slagging for dropping its three-day school opening plan for Leaving Cert students.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Dangerous missteps on the Walk of Doom

Taoiseach Micheál Martin did the Walk of Doom again last week. That's the little drama they stage these days when he wants to impress us with the calm authority he brings to the task of fighting Covid.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Nphet is fallible, but it's the best tool we have

Suddenly, everything has changed. We'd become used to assuming that if the majority of us remained careful we might thwart the virus.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion No bailing Martin out of FF's denial of reality

Some people were a little confused by the behaviour last week of the Taoiseach Micheál Martin. And no one seemed more confused than Mr Martin himself.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Taken to the cleaners by the People Who Matter

It's raining money. All some people have to do is stand still and watch the waves of money approach.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion No magic involved, just money and science

There are people writing tabloid headlines telling us the "magic jab" is coming to save us from Covid-19 and restore normality.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion The truth, the Woulfe truth, and nothing but

The truth is in the transcript of what was said in the Dáil on Thursday - and what was not said.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Kidding ourselves thinking adults in charge

Given the dangers of the next few weeks, what we need is coherent political leadership. We don't have that.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Imagine that: we're doing something right

In the coming days and weeks, small groups of people - judges and politicians - have two big decisions to make. Some of this will affect the rest of us.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion We're the good guys, the rules don't apply

The Government last week decided to let all State officials know they needn't be too fussy about observing the rules of confidentiality.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Even if he loses the election, Trump wins

Win or lose on Tuesday, Donald J Trump has been an extraordinarily successful president. Far more successful than, for instance, Barack Obama.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Revelling in the new FF-FG v Nphet rivalry

There are times when I envy the headbangers - those groups that promote crank politics in which everything is either deep state or fake news. Or both.

Premium

Gene Kerrigan Opinion Panicking politicians, pound-shop messiahs

There was a moment back in June when it dawned on me this might not go so well. To be fair, the politicians hit the ground running. When the first case of coronavirus hit us at the end of February, the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) had been in business for a full month.