Ireland's political and cultural magazine
By Conor O’Carroll The government ignored the advice of the Central Bank on the mortgage-interest relief scheme introduced as part of Budget 2024, according to documents seen by Village Magazine. The records, which were released under Freedom of Information legislation, include confidential memos sent to the Department of Finance before the Budget where the Central […]
By Conor O’Carroll Environmental advocacy group, Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), have echoed comments made by Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan accusing Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan TD of “scaremongering” over flood management reforms. In a recent Dáil debate following the widespread flooding in Cork caused by Storm Babet, Minister O’Donovan criticised attempts by […]
By Conor O’Carroll American pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer queried the Department of Finance’s Freedom of Information (FOI) policy following a report of their meeting with officials in the Business Post. Documents supplied to Village Magazine, also through FOI, show how representatives acting on behalf of Pfizer sought a meeting between its new Senior Vice President of […]
By Conor O’Carroll Iarnród Éireann has ordered almost 1,000 taxis to transport its train drivers, staff and customers to and from stations since 2019, according to documents released under Freedom of Information. Documents supplied to Village Magazine show how the company has spent over €600,000 in the past five years on 989 taxi journeys for […]
Officials from the Department of Children approached the UK Home Office seeking advice following the launch of the controversial asylum seeker barge, the Bibby Stockholm, as preparations for the Irish ‘flotel’ continue. By Conor O’Carroll Irish Government officials congratulated their counterparts in the UK Home Office following the launch of the controversial asylum-seeker barge, documents […]
Having recorded huge profits in the first six months of the year, ESB look to reward staff with millions in gift vouchers By Conor O’Carroll The state-owned Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is seeking to purchase an estimated €21 million in gift cards and vouchers for its employees and as part of its ‘Beat the Peak’ […]
This week’s Consultative Forum report is nothing more than of academic interest because the DFA set its policy strategy weeks in advance of the public debate. By J Vivian Cooke On Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) published the report of the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy. It is a balanced, thoughtful and worthy document […]