Many families to gain by thousands of euro in giveaway budgetExtra billions to be invested in water, housing and energy from the proceeds of bank sharesTue Oct 01 2024 - 05:34
Will you end up with more in your pocket after Budget 2025?Budget 2025: State’s massive surplus and the looming general election make giveaway measures - and politics - a key part of the budgetMon Sept 30 2024 - 15:55
Dáil bike shed leaps onto political agenda as a big issue for votersHousing, immigration and the €336,000 bike shed are the Government issues people have noticed mostMon Sept 30 2024 - 06:00
Mary Lou McDonald’s hope of pulling off another Lazarus act is not great. Sinn Féin’s confidence is rattledCampaigns are dynamic, unpredictable and volatile, but the party faces an uphill battleSun Sept 29 2024 - 07:00
Hate crime Bill to retain special protections for transgender and non-binary people Elements relating to hate speech to be shelved but gender definitions to remain despite opposition including by Michael McDowell questioning idea of legislating for ‘multiplicity of subjective genders’Wed Sept 25 2024 - 06:00
Ireland’s wealthiest pensioners will benefit from raised tax threshold while 800,000 workers have no pension at allThe reason senior gardaí – and a small number of other senior public servants – would have faced a huge tax bill is because their pensions are hugeSat Sept 21 2024 - 07:05
Irish Times poll: As Harris emerges as top choice for next taoiseach, expectations of an early election growSome voters may see Harris as a change candidate, quite a coup after 13 years of Fine Gael in governmentSat Sept 21 2024 - 06:00
Plans to introduce hate speech laws droppedPlanned hate speech laws were criticised by Government backbenchers, free speech groups and Elon MuskSat Sept 21 2024 - 06:00
Voters favour return of FF-FG government with Harris most popular choice for taoiseach – Irish Times pollOn which party voters do not want to see in government, Sinn Féin tops list with 37 per centSat Sept 21 2024 - 06:00
No guarantee voters will be grateful if Government bungs them money in the budget‘Help with the cost of living’ is what half of all respondents to Irish Times Poll want to see in the budget, more than twice the 24% who opt for increased spending on public servicesFri Sept 20 2024 - 06:00
Irish Times poll: Cost of living tops public concerns for budgetLess than a quarter of respondents to poll said they wanted the Government to prioritise increased spending on public servicesFri Sept 20 2024 - 06:00
If FG and FF TDs were in favour of early election before they will be even more hot-to-trot nowIf the Government sees out term of office it will be a remarkable act of political self-abnegationThu Sept 19 2024 - 06:00
Irish Times poll: Approval rating for Simon Harris surges as Mary Lou McDonald’s declines sharplyThe results of latest Irish Times/Ipsos opinion poll are likely to intensify pressure on Mr Harris to call an election after the BudgetThu Sept 19 2024 - 06:00
Dáil returns: Febrile, fretful and intensely competitive few weeks lie aheadWith an election on the horizon, politicians are focused on their constituencies and the relentless competition for votesTue Sept 17 2024 - 20:24
Political conclaves suggest parties gearing up to embark on big election auctionCoalition and alternatives preparing in the assumption of a November general election because that timing suits their interestsTue Sept 17 2024 - 06:00
Apple windfall is not the EuroMillions. We need to get a gripApple’s billions threaten to transform our entire political debate into a massive auction, but this would be a big mistakeSun Sept 15 2024 - 07:07
Jack Chambers interview: ‘There’s a small Apple every year now in surpluses in the Irish economy’Fianna Fáil Minister for Finance on the challenges of putting together his first budget, which will include a €3bn injection for key infrastructure prioritiesSat Sept 14 2024 - 06:00
Budget 2025 to include €3bn boost for infrastructure including housing, Chambers saysBetter water and energy services will also be paid for out of this allocation, Minister for Finance says in interview with The Irish TimesSat Sept 14 2024 - 06:00
Weather changes but Simon Harris looking to election on horizonFine Gael needs to provide details of proposed new State-run early education and childcare service to give it credibilityWed Sept 11 2024 - 19:46
Ms Justice Caroline Costello to be appointed president of Court of AppealJudge succeeds Mr Justice George Birmingham who has retiredTue Sept 10 2024 - 19:36
Trinity and NUI Seanad panels to end and be replaced by all-graduate voteSix senators to be elected in future by all graduates of higher education institutions - but not until 2030Tue Sept 10 2024 - 06:00
Budget solo-runs by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Greens point to near-end of CoalitionAll Jack Chambers has to do is read the newspapers and he’ll know exactly what his colleagues are going to ask forMon Sept 09 2024 - 21:13
Taoiseach and Keir Starmer agree to recommence annual summits in ‘reset’ of Anglo-Irish relations British prime minister says relationship with Ireland is hugely important after talks at FarmleighSat Sept 07 2024 - 14:24
Norma Foley vows school sexual abuse commission will be set up ‘as quickly as possible’Minister for Education says she has convened a high-level group ‘which will progress the work that is needed to establish’ a commissionSat Sept 07 2024 - 06:00
Schools abuse inquiry: Redress scheme could cost €5bnWe have an opportunity to learn from the very clear lessons of the past if we are to avoid a massive inquiry running for yearsSat Sept 07 2024 - 06:00
Time limit on school abuse inquiry being considered to speed redress package for survivorsGovernment seeking to balance establishment of full commission of investigation with not unduly delaying redress payments to survivorsFri Sept 06 2024 - 06:00
Tough climb ahead for friend of Ireland as Michel Barnier is appointed French prime ministerFew foreign politicians are spoken about in Dublin in such glowing terms as the former EU chief Brexit negotiatorThu Sept 05 2024 - 17:08
Religious orders under pressure to contribute to redress funding, but potential costs unknownHistory suggests getting religious orders to pay will be easier said than doneThu Sept 05 2024 - 06:00
Schools abuse redress: Concern in Government over costs running into billionsTaoiseach suggests compensation for those abused in religious-run schools cannot be ‘parked’ until after inquiry, but no decision yet made on nature of schemeThu Sept 05 2024 - 06:00
Planning reforms to pass by mid-October, Darragh O’Brien tells CabinetMinister for Housing says the planning Bill will reform and streamline the planning process, reducing delays in housing and strategic infrastructure projectsTue Sept 03 2024 - 22:06
Statutory inquiry into sexual abuse of children at day and boarding schools agreed at CabinetWork on preparations for the inquiry by officials, including legislation to be brought before the Oireachtas, will begin shortlyTue Sept 03 2024 - 13:58
Statutory inquiry likely after report on sexual abuse in schoolsIntention of Government is to establish inquiry into potentially thousands of cases of abuse which occurred in the pastTue Sept 03 2024 - 06:00
Sinn Féin’s €39bn housing plan: affordable homes from €250,000, freezing rents and 300,000 new units in five yearsPlan includes provision for 125,000 units that would be State-provided social and affordable housingMon Sept 02 2024 - 06:00
Defence co-operation vital in wake of Ukraine invasion, Luxembourg PM saysLuc Frieden praises value of collective EU defence ahead of meeting Taoiseach and Tánaiste in DublinSun Sept 01 2024 - 14:00
Budget one-offs are economically indefensible and politically smartEveryone - within Government and without - is preparing for a November electionSun Sept 01 2024 - 06:30
Ireland will cease purchases of Israeli military equipment, says Tánaiste Ongoing contracts to be put under review as violence in Gaza continuesFri Aug 30 2024 - 06:00
Most voters have negative view of Government’s record on housing and immigrationMore than 75% of those polled have negative views of Government’s performance in relation to these two issuesMon Aug 26 2024 - 00:01
Almost 40,000 new homes to be completed this year, says HarrisSpeaking at the annual Michael Collins commemoration at Béal na Bláth, Taoiseach again proposed a Department for InfrastructureSun Aug 25 2024 - 15:00
Irish troops in Lebanon safe following heavy exchange of fire between Hizbullah and IsraelSome 375 personnel are deployed in south Lebanon which has been heavily bombarded by IsraelSun Aug 25 2024 - 13:00
Three lessons in leadership from the careers of the great rivals, FitzGerald and HaugheyHaughey understood the ambiguity many felt about the Northern conflict. FitzGerald understood the yearning of middle class urbanites to be modern, European, more secular. The leaders who will prosper now are those who intuit where the country really is in 2024Sun Aug 25 2024 - 06:30
Simon Harris: ‘I can’t give the whole manifesto away, but should early childhood be part of the education system in a more formal way?’In his first big interview as Taoiseach, the Fine Gael leader hints at his ‘big ideas’ on childcare, housing and infrastructural projectsSat Aug 24 2024 - 06:00
Harris promises one-off payments will run for third year in giveaway budgetTaoiseach says budget will be similar to last year with tax reductions and welfare increasesSat Aug 24 2024 - 06:00
Opposition parties gearing up for November election, with posters ordered and manifestos nearing completionSenior Sinn Féin figure says the party would be ‘mad not to’ prepare for an autumn electionThu Aug 22 2024 - 06:00
Efforts to defuse Coalition row over planned deferral of residential zoned land taxTax was due to kick in next year, with landowners facing an annual 3 per cent payment on the value of land earmarked for housingWed Aug 21 2024 - 19:50
Housing overtakes immigration as the top issue getting voters’ attentionFifth of voters nominate housing as most significant issue when asked about Government’s performanceMon Jul 29 2024 - 06:00
‘The whole immigration thing is a mess’: Irish voters on Government performancePublic were asked about Government’s performance in latest Snapshot poll. Here is what they saidMon Jul 29 2024 - 00:01
Here’s my prediction for when the general election will happenThe Fine Gael feel-good factor isn’t going to last forever. Throw in the expectation in Government of a Trump victory on November 5th and the possibility of a “flight to safety” by Irish voters afterwards, and one date starts to look most likelySat Jul 27 2024 - 05:55
Future governments will be able to alter RTÉ funding dealMinister ‘couldn’t imagine’ a future government rowing back on the commitments even though no legislation would be needed to do soThu Jul 25 2024 - 06:00
RTÉ funding: Extra €6m for An Post to crack down on licence fee evasion and improve collection Taoiseach says multi-annual funding is something most State agencies would give their right arm for’Wed Jul 24 2024 - 16:16
Major inquiry into sexual abuse in schools to be recommended by scoping reportThe scoping inquiry was commissioned last year after allegations of sexual abuse at Blackrock College in Dublin were made by past pupilsWed Jul 24 2024 - 06:00
