Affairs, 20 November 2020

THE RESUMPTION of attacks on public health advice indicate that certain figures in government and business understand the weakness of their own position. Those who complained bitterly about ‘yo-yo lockdowns’ just weeks ago now seek a return to the lowest level possible, whatever the consequences. Still nursing the wounds from an embarrassing u-turn on Level… Read more »

Affairs, 20 November 2020

IRISH TIMES readers are fortunate that the paper’s resident young Tory is on hand to keep the nation’s passions in check. In the latest dispatch from her Westminster townhouse, Finn McRedmond calls for greater nuance against an alleged tide of “anti-Englishness”. The columnist points to what she says is one “extreme example”, a 2017 piece… Read more »

Affairs, 18 November 2020

CHRISTMAS SEASON can only be around the corner when Government Buildings roll out a tokenistic nod to the diaspora. This week, An Taoiseach welcomed a new strategy for the Irish abroad, “central to which”, he says, “is a deep appreciation of the profound importance of connection.” Throughout the last recession, Governments leaned heavily on the… Read more »

Affairs, 18 November 2020

THAT EMINENTLY relatable social media influencer Simon Harris turned the wrong page this week while sharing some of his reading habits. Irish libraries will have been flummoxed to see the Minister for Further and Higher Education cheerily promoting the competition. On Tuesday night, Harris announced to his audience of nearly two hundred thousand on social… Read more »

Affairs, 13 November 2020

PLANS TO amend the Lobbying Act will be watched with interest by a number of former politicians.  The outrage at Golfgate and early retirements of Brian Hayes, Michael D’Arcy and Dara Murphy have brought renewed attention on the appropriateness of some post-Leinster House careers. In the Dáil last week, Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath signalled… Read more »

Affairs, 12 November 2020

VIEWERS of RTÉ’s main evening news on Wednesday were treated to a curious take on events in Belfast.  The North continues to record some the world’s highest infection rates and occupies an unfamiliar place at the top of RTE bulletins. Anchor Sharon Ní Bheoláin introduced the segment telling her audience of  a “stalemate as the… Read more »

Affairs, 12 November 2020

A CHASTENED Leo Varadkar was almost contrite following the no confidence motion on Tuesday night when Dáil business returned to the plight of online moderators.  During priority questions, Sinn Féin’s Louise O’Reilly outlined for the Tánaiste and Enterprise Minister the “serious psychological damage and injury” encountered by workers exposed to explicit content on websites like… Read more »

Affairs, 11 November 2020

WHILE JUSTICE Woulfe struggles to comprehend the place he finds himself at least someone is providing belated image management on his behalf. The former Attorney General has been short on allies in recent months but Woulfe was fortunate to receive some well timed positive coverage this week. Woulfe’s professional achievements and contribution to law were… Read more »

Affairs, 11 November 2020

DONALD TRUMP’S influence is set to endure if Leo Varadkar’s defence is any indication. More curious is an apparent reluctance to question his recent attacks on the media. The former Taoiseach famously stunned fellow dinner guests at an event in New York when he was seen to disparage the work of media organisations and political… Read more »

Affairs, 11 November 2020

THE UBIQUITOUS Stefanie Preissner is among the most prominent of those who have shrewdly made the jump from entertainment to current affairs in 2020. With publishing deals, broadcasting slots, theatre shows and a Sunday Independent column to her name, the world of news has become the ambitious Corkwoman’s next frontier. Preissner’s already established media presence… Read more »

Affairs, 10 November 2020

IT SEEMS that there is never a good time for a no confidence motion as far as Fianna Fail is concerned. The party, which was once upon a time capable of unrivalled truculence, has become very adverse to the rough and tumble of politics.  As Leo Varadkar faces further scrutiny in the Dáil this evening,… Read more »

Affairs, 10 November 2020

POPULAR Instagrammer-turned-hair-queen Claire Fullam, aka Claire Balding, has gotten herself into a tangle with her new hair products site, Trua. Eagle-eyed fans spotted some of the products she’s selling on Ali Express at a fraction of the price, and when called out on it, Fullam took a little break from social media until the fuss… Read more »

Affairs, 10 November 2020

THERE’S MORE upheaval at the Sindo, with the axe falling on several columnists as part of the imminent rebranding of Living section to People & Culture. Those culled under new features editor Fran Power’s scythe include Eleanor Goggin, best mate of Living’s former editor, Mary O’Sullivan. The nation will be relieved that Brendan O’Connor looks… Read more »

Affairs, 9 November 2020

NEWSPAPERS in Brexit Britain received the US election results with characteristic restraint.  The old phrase “special relationship” took on a different and decidedly green hue over fears the balance of power is tilting toward Ireland. The Daily Telegraph warned that “Biden will now wage war on Brexit as the British outpost of Trumpism.” Coverage across… Read more »

Affairs, 9 November 2020

THE RETURN of more “moderate” figures to power in Washington will buy some breathing room for EU foreign policymakers, and not least for minister Simon Coveney in Dublin. When in search of a seat on the UN Security Council seat, Dublin was prepared to talk a big game on Palestinian rights but behind all the… Read more »

Affairs, 5 November 2020

FINE GAEL minister Simon Harris was quick to his feet in the Dáil on Tuesday to account for his own interactions with Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail. Further messages released by Chay Bowes show the former president of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) contacting the former health minister privately on Twitter.  Before the Oireachtas… Read more »

Affairs, 4 November 2020

AFTER A STALLED bid for the party leadership, the Leo Varadkar controversy has handed an enormous gift to Jim O’Callagan. The ambitious barrister declined a junior ministry in July, pledging instead to focus on Fianna Fáil’s need for “strong voices outside Government who can ensure that our party’s identity can be protected during the term… Read more »

Affairs, 4 November 2020

VILLAGE PUBLISHER Michael Smith will have been pleased to hear Leo Varadkar describe the magazine as “fringe” on Tuesday. The fact that such a lowly entity had caused the Tánaiste to account for himself on the floor of Dáil Éireann would suggest differently but this is not the first time Vlad has tangled with the… Read more »

Affairs, 30 October 2020

VERONA MURPHY bagged a few easy headlines this week announcing her decision to live off a weekly €350 for the duration of lockdown. Ensuring no good deed goes unpublicised, the Wexford TD pre-emptively promised the media that “populism” played no part in her motivations. Rather, the move was in “solidarity” with workers out of a… Read more »

Affairs, 30 October 2020

TODAY’S RULING at the Commercial Court will turn out to be a very expensive one for the Data Protection Commissioner and raises awkward questions about some past decisions. Justice Costello has ruled that Helen Dixon’s office must pay the legal costs of Max Schrems following this summer’s decision on EU-US data transfers at the Court… Read more »

Affairs, 29 October 2020

THE NATION’s wellbeing received a welcome boost on Thursday with the sight of Stephen Donnelly launching yet another miserly mental health campaign.  The Government’s new ‘Keep Well’ initiative follows the same ‘low cost high bluster’ formula as the #inthistogether wheeze launched and quickly forgotten by the previous Government in April.  A weary public are again… Read more »

Affairs, 29 October 2020

JEREMY CORBYN’S belief that some of his troubles can be attributed to a hostile media were given further credence on RTÉ. The former British Labour leader was suspended from the party on Thursday during the fallout from the publication of the Equality and Human Rights Commission report on anti-Semitism. In a statement, Corbyn said that… Read more »

Affairs, 28 October 2020

QUESTIONS WILL be asked about Attorney General Paul Gallagher following the sustained controversy over the Mother and Baby Homes legislation. The public response in recent weeks took all in Leinster House by surprise and is set to echo long after the Commission delivers its final report this week. In different times, the scenes of public… Read more »

Affairs, 28 October 2020

IT IS becoming difficult to tell if even Leo Varadkar knows which way the wind is blowing. The Enterprise Minister sees it as within his brief to indulge the crankier theories of industry lobbyists on one day, before retreating behind the cover that his Government is calling it right on the next. On Monday, the… Read more »