So Dame Louise Richardson wasn’t plotting to push us into Nato after allIf Government gave her a gig to achieve the abandonment of neutrality, they should get their money backSun Oct 22 2023 - 06:45
Drip-feeding funding: The politics of not budgeting for runaway health spendingTensions have bubbled up inside - and outside - Government and among senior civil servants in the fallout from a new budget that did not budget for massive health spending overrunsSat Oct 21 2023 - 06:00
Don’t cancel views you disagree with, Varadkar tells student debate‘Increasingly there are subjects people are afraid of speaking about for fear of causing offence,’ says TaoiseachFri Oct 20 2023 - 21:00
Pat Leahy: Dáil shows its colours with widespread TD support for PalestineGovernment echoes EU position in seeking to be even-handed and attempting to reflect both sides of disputeWed Oct 18 2023 - 21:35
Fianna Fáil TD Marc MacSharry to retire from politics at next electionObservers were surprised when Mac Sharry left the party entirely earlier this year and he has been an isolated figure in Leinster House since thenWed Oct 18 2023 - 09:45
Taoiseach stresses need to distinguish ‘between Hamas and innocent Palestinian people’ Clear differences emerge between Government and Opposition on events in Israel and GazaWed Oct 18 2023 - 05:00
‘No public appetite’ to change Irish model of neutralityForums find ‘prevailing view’ that triple lock on Defence Forces should change while popular support persists for Irish neutralityTue Oct 17 2023 - 17:04
Government approves nomination of six judges Four senior counsel to go forward for High Court roles and two solicitors set for Circuit Court postsTue Oct 17 2023 - 14:57
No plans to reopen health service budget allocations, says DonohoeBudget allocation will have ‘catastrophic implications’ for patients and those who work on the front line of health service, says Sinn FéinTue Oct 17 2023 - 05:30
Q&A: What’s the problem with the health service budget?Stephen Donnelly has admitted the sector will require additional money before end of next yearMon Oct 16 2023 - 20:08
The budget is broadly popular but that doesn’t mean the Government isThe stability message is unlikely to wash with 20-somethings stuck living at homeSat Oct 14 2023 - 06:00
Stephen Donnelly admits to shortfall in health budget for next yearBudget 2024: Department of Health sought more than €2 billion extra in budget but got just €708 millionThu Oct 12 2023 - 05:00
‘Spend and save’ budget unveiled with tax giveaways and mortgage reliefTax cuts costing €1.1bn in the first budget presented by a Fianna Fáil Minister for Finance since 2010Wed Oct 11 2023 - 06:14
Muted budget reaction belies fact it contains one of the most significant policy decisions in a long timeBudget 2024 was framed for the archetypal family unit of middle IrelandWed Oct 11 2023 - 06:00
Budget package to bring total Government spending next year to over €100bnMinisters also unveil plan which will see billions of euro in windfall corporation tax saved for when they are needed in the futureWed Oct 11 2023 - 05:00
Giveaway budget package to see big spending increases and tax cuts for middle-income earnersThere will also be €12 a week increase in basic welfare rates and tax cuts targeted at middle-income earnersTue Oct 10 2023 - 08:59
Budget 2024 talks: Childcare fees cut by 25%, €450 energy credit, mortgage tax break up to €1,250 among measures consideredAlso included is €55 million in funding to expand provision of free school books to the first three year groups in secondary schoolsMon Oct 09 2023 - 21:04
Budget 2024: The table, the couch and the art of pulling a budget togetherExpect architects McGrath and Donohoe to be cautious and unshowy on Tuesday, despite political pressure to spend billions in surplusesSat Oct 07 2023 - 07:00
What does it cost to run Ireland per year? Which costs most: education, health or retirees?Your pre-Budget guide to how much tax the State earns per annum and how it spends itSat Oct 07 2023 - 05:45
Budget 2024: ‘Targeted’ mortgage relief planned for homeowners hit by interest rate hikesPeople on fixed rates are unlikely to qualify under proposed scheme which will be discussed by Ministers over the weekendSat Oct 07 2023 - 04:30
Budget 2024: Frantic final days of negotiations as deadline looms without agreementHealth bailout and temporary measures made permanent could squeeze ministers’ room for manoeuvreFri Oct 06 2023 - 06:00
Budget 2024: Donnelly privately warns drug firms no funds for new medicines are likely due to health overrunsFinal agreement on health overspend has not been reached as negotiations between party leaders continueThu Oct 05 2023 - 06:00
Sinn Féin’s alternative budget is carefully calculated not to scare off the middle groundParty’s tax hikes would hurt the wealthy – but they wouldn’t hurt most peopleWed Oct 04 2023 - 19:23
Social Democrats target tax hikes to fund spending increases in healthcare and housingThe party also said it would spend an additional €1.1 billion on housing while it would take much of the surplus of corporation tax receipts to deal with energy costs and fund a ‘climate transformation’Wed Oct 04 2023 - 13:44
Budget 2024: Economic growth forecast sharply cut by ESRIMinister confirms tax from companies expected to undershoot forecast as budget preparations continueWed Oct 04 2023 - 05:00
Justice trouble for Helen McEntee could dent any leadership ambitionsChallenges of the job have a habit of taking a toll on careers of those who hold itTue Oct 03 2023 - 17:03
Irish corporation tax revenues slip 12% to €1.8bn in September as budget day nearsExchequer returns show workers and businesses paid €61.4bn to State in first nine months of 2023Tue Oct 03 2023 - 16:05
Budget 2024 set to be an exercise in balancing expectations with resourcesAn election looms in the near future and this Coalition trails in the polls, so party leaders will expect the budget to lift political fortunesMon Oct 02 2023 - 19:00
Irish public takes a tough line on RTÉ as poll data suggests revolt against TV licence fee will continueIrish Times poll analysis: Something fundamental seems to have shifted in the way many people think about RTÉ – or at least in the way they think about paying for itSat Sept 30 2023 - 07:00
We ‘will in our arse’ have an Irish NHSAn ‘Irish NHS’ is an oft-repeated pledge from Sinn Féin. But is it a threat or a promise?Sat Sept 30 2023 - 06:45
RTÉ pay controversy: 40% of people say they will not pay licence fee in wake of disclosuresIrish Times/Ipsos opinion poll finds only a third of respondents believe Ryan Tubridy should return to broadcaster, while large majority back cost cuttingSat Sept 30 2023 - 06:00
Irish Times poll analysis: Sinn Féin will have to compromise if Mary Lou McDonald is to make historyIrish Times/Ipsos poll: Mary Lou McDonald is voters’ clear choice for Taoiseach, but her party fares worseFri Sept 29 2023 - 06:00
Mary Lou McDonald most popular choice for taoiseach, Irish Times/Ipsos poll findsFour in ten voters want Sinn Féin in next Government, but party also faces most oppositionFri Sept 29 2023 - 06:00
Sinn Féin extends lead to stay on course to be largest party in next Dáil, latest opinion poll showsSinn Fein has increased again, they lead Fianna Fáil by 14 points while Mary Lou McDonald remains the most popular leaderThu Sept 28 2023 - 06:00
Poll analysis: Parties big and small being squeezed by Sinn Féin juggernautRepeat of current coalition seems unlikely as combined support of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens now at 41%Thu Sept 28 2023 - 06:00
Reducing tax on rental income among budget proposals for keeping landlords in market Budget 2024: Fraught pre-budget negotiations made worse by expected €1bn health overspendTue Sept 26 2023 - 06:00
Expectation mounts that referendum on women’s ‘duties in the home’ unlikely in 2023There are continuing doubts in Government about whether the vote will take place at allTue Sept 26 2023 - 06:00
Ireland has had three books on Covid but still no inquiry. What’s going on?The long-awaited Covid inquiry should shed light on how Holohan, Varadkar, Martin and others communicated and reached their decisionsSat Sept 23 2023 - 06:00
McEntee wants to use anti-terror legislation to prevent future intimidation by far-right protestersOffences Against the State Act to be considered with enhanced security around Dáil on budget daySat Sept 23 2023 - 05:00
Dáil authorities face dilemma over protestsTightening security could be seen as giving far-right activists the confrontation they desireFri Sept 22 2023 - 17:05
Flat atmosphere in Leinster House overshadowed by chaos outsideMary Lou McDonald hits her stride after surgery as scandal around Temple Street hospital deepensThu Sept 21 2023 - 08:07
Plan for ‘cashless’ National Car Test system may be shelved after ministerial orderMcGrath indicates to Coalition colleagues that public bodies under their remit should maintain existing payment methods regarding cashWed Sept 20 2023 - 17:51
Keep accepting cash payments, Michael McGrath tells public bodiesMinister’s move follows criticism of announcement by National Car Testing Service that it would no longer take cashWed Sept 20 2023 - 12:18
Budget to dominate as Dáil returns with a few notable absenteesMuch chatter about Coalition leaders’ decision to biff off to New York for the first week as spectre of election loomsWed Sept 20 2023 - 07:59
Budget 2024: Ministers dampen expectations amid warnings to control inflation‘We’ll do the very best we can . . . but we won’t be able meet all of the demands that are there,’ says Minister for Finance Michael McGrath in advance of Budget 2024Wed Sept 20 2023 - 06:00
One-off budget giveaways will be less than last year to avoid firing inflation, McGrath saysMinister for Finance says ‘help for people’ will be forthcoming but not all demands will be metTue Sept 19 2023 - 18:37
RTÉ will get its bailout, but the terms and conditions will be painfulA common political view aired privately is that RTÉ is as not as much a special case as it seems to thinkSat Sept 16 2023 - 06:45
Mortgage relief benefit may be revived, but only for those in difficultyGovernment mulls possibility of postponing fuel duty increase as it considers assistance for worst-hit mortgage holders onlySat Sept 16 2023 - 06:00
Paschal Donohoe: ‘Not spending every cent you have is the best insurance policy’Minister for Public Expenditure on keeping a surplus, RTÉ funding and ‘case for centrism’ amid budget wranglingWed Sept 13 2023 - 16:17
RTÉ paid €650,000 in car allowances last year with no proof of licence requiredDocuments submitted by RTÉ in advance of media committee hearing show various allowances worth €4.1 millionTue Sept 12 2023 - 16:36
