News
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No on and on for Noonan
When Enda Kenny steps down from his position as Taoiseach in the coming weeks, it comes as little surprise that finance minister, Michael Noonan, another great survivor of Irish politics, will depart with him, or not long after. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is believed to be critical of a decision Noonan made not to […]
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Cardinal Desmond Connell has died aged 90, generating – since he was the best known avatar of the conservative Catholic Church – predictably ambivalent obituaries. Born in Dublin’s Phibsborough he attended Belvedere College, Clonliffe diocesan seminary, and UCD where he picked up a brilliant MA. After St Patrick’s College, Maynooth where he was a bachelor […]
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Editorial: Enda the puns
Enda Kenny has been Taoiseach since 2011 and leader of Fine Gael since 2002, a political aeon ago, and was first elected to the Dáil in 1975, before the flood. When he retires as he will next month he will be the longest serving Fine Gael Taoiseach, overtaking John A Costello. He has been consistently […]
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PAC has vindicated C&AG
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has criticised finance minister, Michael Noonan, over his dealings with Cerberus, the US fund which controversially purchased the property assets held by NAMA in Northern Ireland in April 2014. Following public hearings late last year into the detailed analysis report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) on the sale […]
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Storm(y)ont Elections
More of the same, though unclear if SF will accept Foster as DUP first minister and tantalising glimpses of new collaborations for second-tier parties.
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Fury and Avoidance
The prospect of a Commission of Investigation into the sale by NAMA of its Northern Ireland property portfolio to US vulture fund, Cereberus, in April 2014, looks to be receding by the day. Judging by the demeanour and language of finance minister, Michael Noonan, during a special debate on the issue on 1 February the […]
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Sinn Féin and DUP up
Changes to the number of Assembly seats in the forthcoming Northern election will give an artificial seat boost to the two big parties, the DUP and Sinn Féin. Each of the 18 constituencies will elect five MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) rather than the previous six. Because the Assembly will be reduced from 108 […]