Journalists

John Downing: 'Neither Ireland nor the EU blinked as the UK lost out - but are we blinkered?' 

The EU did not blink on its own nor on Ireland's behalf.

Ireland will not oppose extending Brexit deadline but London must have a plan – Coveney 

Ireland will not oppose any UK application for a Brexit extension – but London must have a plan to use the extra time, the Tánaiste has told the Dáil.

John Downing: 'PM claims she has a better deal - now it's over to those Brexiteers' 

It's all about finding a formula of words to effectively assure people that the "temporary" backstop will not "endure indefinitely".

Healy meets Barnier ahead of crucial week for Brexit 

Irish Farmers’ Association president Joe Healy met chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier ahead of key Brexit votes en route to the Six Nations clash between Ireland and France.

FG and FF at war on report about carbon tax increases 

Tensions between the "big two" parties over continuing Government co-operation have again surfaced - this time on the key issue of climate change and major hikes in the carbon tax.

John Downing: Farm leaders have a fine tradition of cutting it on the political frontline 

John Comer, the former ICMSA president from Mayo, has joined a long line of farm union leaders having a shot at national politics.

John Downing: 'May clings to hope she can finally lug her mouldy old deal over the line with big-stick approach' 

'A hero who sneezed, abruptly seized retreat, and reversed it to victory."

Creed battles to restore North-south fishery deal 

GOVERNMENT efforts to quickly restore a North-south fishery arrangement ahead of Brexit deadlines have been dealt a blow.

John Downing: 'EU puts Britain in its place with two very blunt messages' 

The twin messages from the EU to Westminster could not have been more blunt - even as British MPs were again voting on where they believed Brexit should now head.

Calves being sold for as little as 50 cent as Brexit fallout hits home – Dáil told 

Calves are being sold for just 50 cent as Ireland’s beef sector, already badly hit by low prices, now faces huge Brexit tariffs on its €1bn UK export market, the Fianna Fáil leader has told the Dáil.

May pushes Brexit to the brink as talks hit deadlock ahead of vote 

Theresa May is yet again set to push Brexit to the absolute brink in two parallel confrontations, with the EU on one side, and her own rebelling Conservative Party colleagues on the other.

Waterford Airport needs €12m revamp 'to drive development in the south east' 

Unless Waterford Airport gets a €12m revamp it "does not have a viable future", a special report to Government has warned.

John Downing: 'As Brexit swirls with all sorts of 'definite maybes', the only thing that looks certain for now is a delay' 

Again it's all about the politics of delay as the United Kingdom's marathon emotional drama over EU membership is approaching its finale this week.

Continued changes in tech and UK's exit risk Irish jobs - Varadkar 

Even a reasonable Brexit outcome will still put Irish jobs at risk, the Taoiseach has said.

John Downing: 'Real case of déjà-vu as talks on backstop circle around to where we were months ago' 

If this seems familiar it is because we have been - bar the odd detail - around this circle before.

John Downing: 'Survival in a post-Brexit EU for Ireland demands making new alliances and deepening some old ones' 

The pair stood in the rain at Carrickcarnon in Co Louth, just feet from Co Armagh. It was in its way a strangely moving gesture by the Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, who joined EU Affairs Minister Helen McEntee right on the Irish Border to deliver a resounding message of Dutch solidarity on the Brexit backstop.

John Downing: 'Gunboat rhetoric: DUP ignoring facts here - but fisheries are a big Brexit issue' 

"The Clíona, the Meabh and the Mucha, The pride of the Irish navy, When the Captain he blows on his whistle, All the sailors go home for their tea."

John Downing: 'Latest puzzle at EU level will put two MEPs into 'cold storage'' 

Another day brings another series of questions - some answerable and many just still hanging out there - about the detailed implications of Brexit.

'Brexit bailout for farmers to affect rural broadband' 

The need for a Brexit bailout for farmers could affect rural broadband roll-out plans, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned.

UK exit fallout could hit rural broadband plans - Taoiseach 

The need for a Brexit bailout for farmers could affect rural broadband roll-out plans, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned.

John Downing: 'Let's face reality - delay does not mean Brexit will simply go away' 

'However much we wish, we're not going to wake up to find the last two and a half years have been a bad dream. The UK is leaving the European Union and today we still don't know how or under what conditions.'

Rural broadband to cost 'multiples' of original estimates 

Rolling out high-speed broadband to more than 500,000 homes and businesses will cost "many multiples" of the €500m originally estimated, it has emerged.

Taoiseach: state-funded rural broadband rollout will cost 'many multiples' of original estimate 

PLANS for State-funded broadband to half a million homes and businesses in rural Ireland will be “many multiples” of the original cost estimates, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil.

John Downing: Noisy neighbours have always been a nuisance in Brussels but we'll miss them 

We'll start again with a scarce piece of Brexit news. Ireland will not miss the UK when it comes to framing EU farm policy.

John Downing: 'All aboard the legal omnibus, we hope it never leaves terminus' 

The TDs formed an orderly queue at precisely 5.18pm yesterday and with heavy hearts they clambered aboard the 'Brexit Omnibus'.

'Fluidity of situation shows we should press on planning for disorderly exit' - Coveney 

The Government will continue its no-deal Brexit preparations despite more hopeful signals from the London parliament of a positive outcome, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said.

Taoiseach jibe over Martin's 'finger-wagging' sparks furious FF backlash 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's claim that Micheál Martin is "always either wagging the finger or sniping from the sidelines" has sparked a furious backlash from Fianna Fáil.

John Downing: 'Brexit for slow learners' may finally be about to kick in - but there are many obstacles ahead' 

With apologies to the revered Séamus Mallon, we are finally looking at "Brexit for slow learners".

John Downing: 'Martin's doing right thing by putting country above party - but he shouldn't expect any thanks for it' 

Few people now remember that Alan Dukes and Fine Gael actually gained Dáil seats in the election which followed two years of vilification over the so-called Tallaght Strategy.

Fine Gael links to Viktor Orban's right-wing party heavily criticised 

Fine Gael's links to the hard-right party of Viktor Orban in Hungary have been heavily criticised by a potential rival candidate in the forthcoming European Parliament elections.

John Downing: 'Our hybrid Government is well beyond its sell-by date - but Brexit makes it duty-bound to struggle on' 

For some of us it has been a very short three years, as the evaporating weeks quickly turned into months and became years. Others will argue that the time has dragged by with leaden feet.

John Downing: 'This is a rather paranoid time, but there are no signs of sell-out' 

From today, it's precisely six weeks to "B-day". Barring another solution, at 11pm Irish time, or midnight in mainland Europe, on Friday, March 29, the UK will crash out of the European Union without a deal.

Businesses are closing and festivals cancelled due to spiralling public insurance costs - Dáil warned 

Businesses are being driven to closure, jobs are being lost, and community festivals are being blocked, by the spiralling cost of public liability insurance, the Dáil has been warned.

John Downing: 'Cynical Sinn Féin plays the 'no confidence' card yet again' 

Belated first anniversary wishes to Mary Lou McDonald who completed 12 months as party leader, without much fanfare, on Sunday.

Fears Ireland will lose clout as UK Eurocrats play the 'granny rule' 

Irish EU heavy-hitters fear this country's loss of key posts due to age and retirement are being compounded by UK-born Eurocrats playing the "granny rule".

Martin 'risks fielding Fianna Fáil C team' for European elections 

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin faces claims of risking fielding a "C team" of candidates in European Parliament elections amid signs party strategists will retreat from persuading TDs not to stand.

Minister rejects risk of €100m bill from back-claims over welfare cuts 

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has rejected claims that her department allows private sub-contractors to effectively decide welfare cuts for people seen to have failed to engage in back-to-work efforts.

John Downing: 'Two things we do not need: an early election and further delays in the children's hospital project' 

Signs are that, with a little humble pie and some public shriving, Simon Harris can hang on to his job as Health Minister for another while at very least. He has had a bad time and he does look out of his depth in the management of the biggest ever health project in the State, building a new children's hospital.

John Downing: 'Leo says he has 'full confidence' in Simon - like he did Frances' 

The word "know" is a slippery one at the best of times. Put it into the realm of politics and it becomes even more fluid and elusive.

Corbyn letter offers unexpected way forward 

Often it is hard to separate the noise from the message.

Q&A: Blame game: Harris - and possibly Donohoe - are Opposition targets 

Remind me - what is this all about?

Children’s hospital costs spiral show two key ministers 'asleep at the wheel' – Dáil told 

The Government failed in its duty to supervise the building costs of the new €1.7bn children’s hospital which critics say have almost tripled inside two years – the Dáil has been told.

John Downing: 'Movement is not progress - but a trip Stateside could bear fruit' 

With seven weeks and two days left to B-day it's a shame that there is not the same movement in Brexit talks as there is involving some of the main actors. A heavy-hitting EU delegation came to Dublin to talk about how the Republic might well manage a no-deal Brexit - effectively how the trains, boats and planes are going to run in a time of confusion. At the same time some of the...

No one in EU considering changes to Brexit deal, British MPs are warned 

Nobody in the European Union is considering legally binding changes to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and the Border backstop, the EU most senior civil servant insisted yesterday.

John Downing: 'Amid confusion and disunity, the UK hurtles on towards calamity' 

Just when you think you've got your head around the many facets of this Brexit mess, yet another twist lands.

UK request Ireland helps resolve border backstop with technology is 'wishful thinking' - Coveney 

The UK request that Ireland help them replace the border backstop with technological devices doing checks is “wishful thinking,” Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said.

EU will not meet demands to re-negotiate backstop, insists Dutch minister 

The EU will stay united on Brexit and will not meet UK demands to re-open the Withdrawal Agreement which contains the Irish border backstop.

With only seven weeks left to 'B-Day', here are the seven key questions that have yet to be answered 

It is the ugliest word coined in recent years and represents a wearying head-wreck which has sickened people across 28 nations and beyond. But most Irish people still get the reality that Brexit is about the wages, the mortgage, the kids' shoes and all of the rest.

Use vaping to cut smoker numbers, Government told 

Ireland is falling behind in the war against smoking - so it is time to use vaping as a helpful "quitting tool", the Government has been told.

Government urged to promote 'vaping' in the war against smoking 

IRELAND is falling behind in the war against smoking – so it is time to use “vaping” as a helpful “quitting tool,” the Government has been told.

John Downing: 'A week of terrible tragedy put the spotlight on the politics of road safety in Ireland' 

It was a week when heartbreak eclipsed all the other vexing issues which packed a news agenda.

'Life is precious, life is fragile': four crash victims laid to rest 

The horrific Donegal road crash has torn the heart out of the local community and spread a dark cloud across the entire country, funerals for four young men have heard.

John Downing: 'EU sympathetic to B-day extension but strict conditions will apply' 

EU negotiators see time as an extra tool in their negotiating kitbag.

'Life is precious and life is brittle, life is very fragile,' mourners told as four funerals take place in Donegal 

Back-to-back funerals were held in scenic and snow-swept Donegal as thousands turned out in the bitter cold to pay their respects to four young men.

John Downing: 'We didn't create the problem, and shouldn't have to find a remedy' 

The question is worth asking one more time: is insistence on the Irish Border backstop a "nose-for-face job"?

John Downing: 'No-deal threat dims - but May tries to reopen can of worms' 

That man renowned for shouting "Order - Order!" - the UK parliament chairman John Bercow - had picked seven of a total of 14 Brexit amendments put down by various MPs.

Health warnings on alcohol cans and bottles may breach EU single market rules, says Hogan 

Health warnings on alcohol bottles and cans - including graphic cancer alerts - may be deemed in breach of single market rules, Irish EU Commissioner Phil Hogan has warned.

John Downing: 'Few people care much about European elections. But next May's vote is of vital importance for us all' 

Yes, you will have read more arresting openers than the following. But stay with us - this one can only improve.

John Downing: 'EU bosses mean well but can't stop hard Border' 

The EU has come back to us to reiterate that it means no harm to Ireland amid continuing Brexit confusion and awfulness.

Doctors learned via radio reports that 6,000 women will need repeat cervical checks – Dáil 

Tánaiste Simon Coveney today rejected allegations that the Government was trying to hide ongoing problems with the cervical check service for women.

Government reaches for the begging bowl to raise extra €130m 

The Government will have to publicly fundraise to secure €130m of the massive overrun which has pushed up the bill for the new national children's hospital to €1.7bn, it emerged yesterday.

John Downing: 'Our continued Brexit problem is that three into two will not go' 

The Brexit problem we all face can be boiled down to three possible outcomes sought by the key actors in this international drama. The challenge is to get beyond the realpolitik that only two of these three outcomes appears possible right now.

Private firm to be paid €450,000 to find out why national children's hospital has overrun 

THE Government is to pay a private firm €450,000 to find out why the construction cost of the national children’s hospital has spiralled to €1.4bn.

Taoiseach denies CervicalCheck programme is in 'jeopardy' 

The programme which provide cervical cancer screening tests for women is "in jeopardy", the Dáil has heard.

John Downing: 'So, what's the plan now? Ask Tory Brexiteers - and the DUP' 

A hard Border will happen automatically in Ireland if there is a no-deal Brexit.

Full inquiry needed to find out why children’s hospital building costs have tripled to €1.7bn – Dáil told 

RUNAWAY building costs for the children’s hospital project – currently running at €1.7bn – must be probed by a parliamentary inquiry with powers to compel witnesses to give evidence, the Dáil has been told.

John Downing: 'Remarks aren't surprising and can be linked to wider tensions' 

There has been surprise at the level of rock-solid support given to Ireland in the entire Brexit process up to now. So these comments by Poland's foreign minister, Jacek Czaputowicz, about limiting the Border backstop to "say five years" are definitely unwelcome.

John Downing: Where there's a political will, there's a legal way - all eyes are on London as we approach 'B-Day' 

We await Theresa May's next Brexit moves today with limited hope and no real confidence. Already, the average Irish schoolkid could have told the UK authorities yesterday that any talk of a "unilateral deal" with Dublin to overcome the backstop problems was simply a non-starter.

John Downing: Wheeler-dealing Big Phil in pole position to get nod for second term 

It will be a year of changing of the guard in Brussels. But there will be absolute astonishment in political circles if Phil Hogan does not get the nod for another five years as Ireland's EU Commissioner.

Tories peddling 'toxic lie' on Brexit - EU hits back 

Members of British Prime Minister Theresa May's party are peddling a "toxic lie", EU Commissioner Phil Hogan has said.

Motorists may need green card insurance proof 

Irish motorists will need a special "green card" as proof of insurance cover in the North and Britain if there is a no-deal Brexit.

John Downing: 'We do not know how much 'planning for the worst' really is happening right now' 

Where will we be in this Brexit farrago in January 2020? Well, when you pore over all we know, and try to factor in things most likely to happen, we are left with four diverging answers to that question.

Q&A: 'Extra time' looms but the election clock ticks on for the European Union 

What odds on Brexit being extended beyond the March 29 deadline?

Government accused of being 'asleep at the wheel' as children's hospitals costs spiral 

The Government must explain why they were “asleep at the wheel” while estimates for the new children’s hospital building project spiralled out of control, Fianna Fáil’s Dara Calleary has told the Dáil.

How 'backstop' became Brexit's sticking point 

The 500km stretch from Dundalk to Derry becomes the only de facto land frontier between the EU and the UK after Brexit.

John Downing: 'Lame-duck prime minister is facing a near-impossible task' 

Theresa May looks set to get an extension to the Brexit deadline of March 29. But she must soon be able to tell EU colleagues where this whole mess is headed - and that is by far the harder part.

Explainer: What is the 'backstop'? 

The backstop has remained a major sticking point in Brexit talks, but what exactly does it mean?

'Don't mention the war' - private understanding hard border is increasingly likely, Martin claims 

There is a “private understanding” that a “hard border” in Ireland is increasingly likely - but the Government refuses to tell the public, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has told the Dáil.

John Downing: 'This hefty defeat drives the entire process right to brink of carnage' 

Now we have entered the realms of the dangerously surreal with the economic carnage of a no-deal Brexit only 10 weeks away. It also comes as there are real questions about the competence of the Irish Government to cope with what may be coming our way.

John Downing: 'There are serious questions about whether the Irish Government can cope with what's coming our way' 

NOW we have entered the realms of the dangerously surreal with the economic carnage of a no-deal Brexit only 10 weeks away.

New laws put on ice as Brexit takes over Dáil agenda 

It's all about Brexit, Brexit and Brexit as TDs land back in Leinster House today after the Christmas break.

John Downing: 'With defeat all but assured, it's now about how big margin is' 

Please forgive the strained GAA comparison. But this is somehow reminiscent of talk about the Kildare footballers keeping the losing margin against the Dubs to single digits - as in nine points or fewer.

Hogan tipped to stay on amid pressure to name next EU commissioner 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will come under increasing pressure to make an early decision about who will be Ireland's next EU Commissioner.

Fine Gael debates how to bring in a carbon tax and not lose votes 

Fine Gael TDs will today discuss how to navigate the introduction of a carbon tax without losing votes in upcoming local, European and general elections.

Hogan tipped to stay on amid pressure to name next EU commissioner 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will come under increasing pressure to make an early decision about who will be Ireland's next EU Commissioner.

John Downing: 'Nightmare scenario of tax hikes at election time strikes fear into the hearts of TDs' 

The TDs are back at Leinster House tomorrow and Fine Gael deputies in particular fear something very nasty lurking in the shadows. It could well be that fatal combination of elections and tax hikes.

Lower property tax for homes of rich: minister 

A Government Minister wants lower property tax rates for those in affluent areas.

John Downing: 'Twenty years after most ill-judged TV performance in Irish political history, the fallout continues today' 

It all began on a dreary January evening precisely 20 years ago. The people of middle Ireland, many of them broke and bloated from seasonal excesses, sat before their television sets to see what diversion Gay Byrne might offer on RTÉ's 'Late Late Show'.

'Give it a second look' - May warns voting against Brexit deal could break up UK in last-ditch effort to sway MPs 

British Prime Minister Theresa May urged lawmakers on Monday to take "a second look" at her deal to leave the European Union, warning them that voting it down could open the way for the break up of the United Kingdom.

Brexit delay predicted as May facing defeat on deal 

Brexit is increasingly likely to be postponed as senior political figures in Westminster admit the timetable is now too tight.

Embattled May to get 11th-hour 'help' from EU 

"Every effort" will be made to help embattled the British prime minister get the EU-UK Brexit deal the necessary approval by the UK parliament, Commission President Jean Claude Juncker has said.

John Downing: 'Among the Brexit spin-offs, talk about a united Ireland is now very real' 

Enda Kenny of all people was among the first - bar the usual suspects - to speak about the real prospect of a united Ireland. He provoked a deal of controversy and some derision when he talked of the need to guarantee Northern Ireland's potential EU membership if the North parted company with the UK in the wake of Brexit.

John Downing: ''Sideshow Boris' reminds us why we badly need that backstop' 

Not for nothing was Boris Johnson elected Mayor of London twice. Ever the showman, he entertained at this conference in Dublin, beginning early on with a quip about how the Conservative Party whips gladly excused him from duty at Westminster - even suggesting he should be in no hurry back to continue opposing their efforts to get Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal passed.

'Ask Tommie' - Boris Johnson urges RTÉ's Tommie Gorman to verify his 'Euro scepticism' 

Boris Johnson has rejected allegations that he has 'flip-flopped' in his views on the European Union, and urged RTÉ journalist Tommie Gorman to verify that he has always been 'sceptical about the EU'.

John Downing: 'Blow to 'Plan B' may shorten the endgame - but increase the risk' 

Brexit good news in any form is very scarce - so let's lead with a potential positive. The latest parliamentary reverse for Theresa May could speed up the Brexit end-game. Since we have been obliged to listen to this dreary and complex guff for almost three years, that is surely not bad news.

Feeding cows seaweed 'will not help in tackling global warming' 

Hopes that a seaweed additive to cattle feed could dramatically reduce Irish greenhouse gases have been dashed by Agriculture Minister Michael Creed.

Giving publicans VRT exemptions would help rural areas, says senator 

A Fine Gael senator has called for a Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) exemption for publicans who carry customers home, in a move that could be worth around €2,200 for each vehicle.

John Downing: 'Extending the Brexit deadline will only work if UK has a plan' 

We could not be accused of undue cynicism for saying the Brexit deadline will be extended beyond March 29.

Feeding cows seaweed 'will not help in tackling global warming' 

Hopes that a seaweed additive to cattle feed could dramatically reduce Irish greenhouse gases have been dashed by Agriculture Minister Michael Creed.

John Downing: 'Big truck 'war game' at Dover adds farce to B-Day build-up' 

Supporters said the Dover trucks "war game" was supposed to be a practical exercise in planning for the worst. Critics dubbed it just another off-shoot of "Project Fear" by so-called "Remoaners" who failed to adequately scare voters into voting against quitting the EU in June 2016.

John Downing: 'Only thing keeping May in situ is total confusion in Westminster - and it'll get worse before it gets better' 

It will get far worse before it gets any better and the 11 weeks between now and the Brexit witching date of March 29 will be very fraught. The Irish Government has won many battles to minimise inevitable damage - but, almost three years on, this war is far from over.

Fine Gael sticking with its election 'Plan B' despite new deal with FF 

Fine Gael will continue with general election preparations during 2019 as "a precautionary Plan B".

John Downing: 'Good humour and sense of fun masked a keen political tactician' 

Peter Kelly, who has died aged 74, was voted "political rookie of the year" at Leinster House back in 2002. It was an honorary title bestowed with great good humour on a newcomer who made the biggest social impact among political colleagues across all parties.

John Downing: 'We've come full circle in Brexit mess as no-deal edges closer' 

The brief but blessed Brexit silence is over. Theresa May is back at work and we're told she is ringing around the EU capitals trying to get help to somehow lug her unloved draft EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement through a very divided British parliament.

Emergency EU aid for farmers to be sought for Brexit fallout 

The Government will seek hundreds of millions of euro in special aid from Brussels if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal.