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John Downing Opinion Protocol crux tells us a return of an independent Scotland to the EU is fraught with peril

Nicola Sturgeon will be looking to revive the “Auld Alliance” – or at least an updated version of it at all events as the prospect of an independent Scotland, ideally inside the European Union, is back on the agenda.

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Brexit deadlock likely to continue as long as Boris Johnson remains in power, says veteran diplomat on North issues, Jonathan Powell

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern helped create the political conditions that paved the way to end decades of killing in Northern Ireland.

Brexit deadlock is likely to continue as long Boris Johnson remains as UK prime minister, TDs and senators are told

One of the British architects of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement has warned that the Brexit crux – which threatens the North with “permanent crisis” – is likely to continue as long as Boris Johnson remains prime minister.

‘People are one bill away from going over the edge’ – Mary Lou McDonald says emergency budget needed to help those on the brink

If the “top people” in Irish life were in crisis – the Government would offer help “in a flash,” Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.

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John Downing Opinion Fears of a visit by Son of Covid stalk the EU

Covid has not gone away – it has merely changed its clothes. And it may very well slip around for yet another unwelcome big visit in the weeks to come.

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John Downing Opinion From Bertie’s yellow trousers to Lough Erne – where next for us and the G7?

Is Bertie Ahern’s shocking yellow trousers, when he attended as EU representative at the 2004 G7 summit, the extent of it in so far as Irish people are concerned? Yes, let’s also remember that the stunning Fermanagh countryside around Lough Erne also hosted that august gathering on behalf of David Cameron’s London government back in 2013.

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John Downing Opinion Time to reflect more kindly on a bitter war that shaped this nation’s first 100 years

So, which would you have been – a smug free-stater or a romantic republican? We ask mainly because the Irish Civil War began precisely 100 years ago today, and also because this tragic event framed a century of the Irish nation’s political, social and economic world.

Two years on, the ‘calamity coalition’ has survived – but from now on the dangers mount

Not since the Civil War and the State’s foundation has any Irish government faced such a rolling series of successive bouts of turmoil.

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John Downing Opinion European Eye A cold place for women – France faces losing second ever female prime minister

Elizabeth Borne, France’s second ever female prime minister and the first in 30 years, risks an even swifter exit than her only female predecessor, Edith Cresson, who spent just 10 months in office back in 1992.

Eurozone countries – including Ireland – are at risk of economic recession, says Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe

The 19 countries which use the Euro single currency – including Ireland – are at risk of economic recession, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has warned.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin rules out an early budget as costs soar

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned that Ireland “cannot return to the 1970s and 1980s” era of low growth and high inflation.

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John Downing Opinion EU membership can transform lives, but achieving it is increasingly tough

The Taoiseach insists Ireland will never deny another aspiring EU member access to this prosperous group of nations in which “people’s lives can be transformed”, just like Irish people’s experience since 1973.

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EU will boost Ukrainian membership hopes, but despite call for price caps, we are hobbled by the energy crisis

To the sound of mortar fire, five days after Russia’s invasion began, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky formally filed his country’s application to join the EU.

Taoiseach hails EU moves to boost Ukraine with ‘membership candidate status’

The Taoiseach will fly to Brussels on Thursday for a two-day EU leaders’ summit which will grant membership candidate status to embattled Ukraine and neighbouring Moldova.

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‘An Fear Rua’ – the versatile author, journalist and historian Liam Cahill whose talents were spotted by Charles Haughey

When former Taoiseach Charles Haughey was making ambitious plans for Ireland’s EU presidency back in 1990, he chose the journalist and economist Liam Cahill as his head of press in Brussels.

Talk of Brexit ‘border down Irish Sea played all wrong with unionists’ – Ahern

Talk of a Brexit “border down the Irish Sea played all wrong with unionists” and fed problems about Northern Ireland’s special trade status, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has warned.

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John Downing Opinion No script for what happens next in France after wunderkind Macron’s election blow

France’s president Emmanuel Macron has lost his majority in the national parliament as voters delivered a blow to his pro-EU and pro-business agenda. The outcome of Sunday’s runoff vote – less than a month after Mr Macron was decisively re-elected president – also gives leaders on the far left and far right unprecedented political influence in France for the first time since 1945.

Cost of living crisis: Income supports unlikely to be provided before the Budget – Taoiseach Micheál Martin

Measures to help people cope with the spiralling cost of living will not happen before the October Budget, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

Talk of a border poll is both hasty and unrealistic, former minister Charlie Flanagan warns Sinn Féin

Talking about a border poll right now is “premature, hasty, and divisive,” former justice and foreign affairs minister Charlie Flanagan has warned.

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John Downing Opinion As Ukraine takes a step closer to EU membership, we are reminded of Europe’s core ideals

To the cynics, what follows could be stuck in an era of competitive gesture politics as embattled Ukraine burns. But in these difficult times it is too easy to be cynical when what we need are remedies.

Varadkar v Doherty: The story behind the garda 'abuse' remarks and a bitter Dáil row

It started with Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty accusing Fine Gael and Leo Varadkar of “being out of touch” as an expert ESRI report detailing spiralling living costs was discussed.

Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty hits back after Leo Varadkar tells Dáil he ‘abused and mistreated’ a garda

Sinn Féin deputy leader Pearse Doherty has said his conviction for a “very minor breach of the peace” has been dealt with and called on Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to focus on supporting people who cannot heat their homes.

Government unveils €55m grants to help business stop using fossil fuels

The Government will today unveil a business grants package totalling €55m to help reduce the use of fossil fuels over the coming five years.

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John Downing Opinion A slow slide to trade war hangs over hopes of an EU-UK fix

The only semblance of good news in this latest sorry twist in the sorriest of Brexit sagas is a small toe in the door for real EU-UK compromise talks.

Opposition parties line up to support President over housing plan ‘disaster’

Political leaders from Sinn Féin, Labour and People Before Profit have endorsed President Michael D Higgins’s claim that the current housing crisis is “a disaster”.

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From ‘thundering disgrace’ to ‘housing disaster’ – how Irish Presidency moved from fringe to heart of politics

How did a lucrative political pre-retirement course, with free luxury lodgings in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, move to become part of the mainstream political agenda?

Opposition unite to back President Michael D Higgins allegation that the current housing crisis is ‘a disaster’

Political leaders from Sinn Féin, Labour, and People Before Profit have endorsed President Michael D Higgins’ allegation that the current housing crisis is in fact “a disaster.”

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John Downing Opinion The pace of EU moves in this Brexit mess depends on progress of the new UK law

There is a strong air around the latest Brexit saga twist that many people – in London, Brussels and Dublin – are waiting for Boris Johnson to leave the stage.

EU will use carrot and stick approach to oppose Boris Johnson’s move on the North

The EU will today move to catch Boris Johnson’s gambit to change Northern Ireland’s Brexit trade status in a pincer movement.

Taoiseach dubs Sinn Féin the ‘wealthiest political party in Ireland’

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has launched a scathing attack on Sinn Féin challenging them to be more open about their finances.