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.

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EU is prepared ‘to go all out’ in facing down UK over Brexit gambit

Let’s try to keep the bright side out and note that political leaders talk about trade wars far more than they ever act upon them.

EU trade officials have a ‘hit list’ of UK products as trade war looms

Scottish whisky exports into the EU, and the transport of car components in and out of the English midlands and north, will be hit by retaliation against Britain in a looming trade conflict with Brussels.

John Downing Opinion Haughey, Thatcher and the Falklands stance that led to low-point in Irish-British relations

In early summer 1982 the definition of an Irish intellectual was someone who knew where the Falkland Islands were before all of that extraordinary hullabaloo erupted.

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John Downing Opinion Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Luc Melenchon try to simplify a very complex French election

That hard-drinking misanthrope, and unlikely film star, WC Fields, is rightly or wrongly credited as saying: “Never work with children or animals.”

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Keir Starmer strikes a far better tone on Brexit – but he has bigger fish to fry domestically

One short explanation for why British voters opted six years ago to quit the European Union was that the Labour Party failed to campaign for “Remain” - especially in its midland and north of England heartlands.

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Builders barred from bulk-selling over 15,000 new homes to investment groups

Builders have been barred from bulk-selling more than 15,000 proposed new homes to institutional investors following the introduction of strict new planning laws.

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John Downing Opinion ‘Boris on the brink’ is yet another big blow to any hopes of a reasonable remedy in the Brexit marathon screw-up

What happens next in that Boris Johnson saga?