Welcome to this week’s IT Sunday, a selection of the best Irish Times journalism for our subscribers.
One of the easiest ways to make “free” money in Ireland is to buy a piece of land, seek planning permission (or just wait for it to get rezoned), and when the land is revalued upwards, pocket the difference. That trick, writes David McWilliams, it what’s known in economics as “land capture” - and it’s a significant problem in Ireland, “because all the windfall gains of the revaluing of land go to the individual and not the community. It is the community and the State that is making the land valuable, yet all the money goes to the individual landowner. This is ludicrous from a wealth equality perspective.” Read McWilliams’s latest column here.
In his column this weekend, Fintan O’Toole is writing about the far-right, immigration and understanding the ideology that underpins protests against asylum seekers and refugees. In commentary and writing around those demonstrations, there’s a tendency to assume that most people taking part don’t understand what they’re doing, says O’Toole: “Why should they be patronised like this? Just because they’re working class?” he asks. “Most people know very well what it means when they’re screaming abuse at asylum seekers. They’re not stupid: they do it because they enjoy it.”
This week The Irish Times released its latest poll in collaboration with Ipsos on support for the political parties, which once again confirmed that Sinn Féin is the most popular party in Ireland, being the preferred choice of more than one in three voters. The poll showed that Fine Gael (on 22 per cent) are four points ahead of Fianna Fáil (on 18 per cent), and both are some distance ahead of the chasing pack of Labour (on 4 per cent) and the Green Party (on 4 per cent). In his analysis of the poll results, Damian Loscher writes that the backdrop to this latest survey is an economy in rude good health, but a public struggling to cope with rising prices; this gap “between the macro-economic picture and the lived experience of some voters is a space in which Sinn Féin has thrived”, with the party making gains across all demographic cohorts in recent years. Read the full analysis here.
Black Friday is nothing more than Bleak Friday when it comes to environment
TV View: Roy Keane watches future son-in-law score against Ireland, for better or worse
‘I shared a secret I shouldn’t have and was racked with guilt’
From enchanted forests to winter wonderlands: 12 Christmas experiences to try around Ireland
In Your Money, Dominic Coyle this week answers a reader’s query about the complex process of handling her late father’s finances. In the same section this week, Fiona Reddan looks at what we can likely expect from the new Minister for Finance - Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath. The new Minister has expressed support in the past for a number of tax measures, but will his position have changed in Government?
For her latest look into Ireland’s dining scene, Corinna Hardgrave visited Laurel, a keenly-priced restaurant in Blackrock, south Dublin. “Laurel is all about generosity, great service and very reasonable prices. I can see why it’s so popular in this neighbourhood, offering a very comfortable space for a special night out – there’s a birthday across the room and a family dinner beside us.” Read Hardgrave’s 3.5-star review here.
In her Tell Me About It column, Trish Murphy responds to a reader dealing with guilt. Having discovered that their daughter was gay 12 years ago, the reader now admits to not being supportive: “I have come to accept my daughter as gay now, even though I don’t like it, but I’m able to talk slightly about it. I’m beating myself up thinking I ruined her life by not being supportive the first year with her decisions. It’s making me ill.”
Murphy begins her response: “It is possible that you are feeling unwell as your body is expressing the awful grief of having dismissed your daughter’s very essence.” Read the full piece here.
Roe McDermott is this weekend dealing with a relationship query from a reader who says their boyfriend becomes moody and passive aggressive when the reader declines sex. “Dump him immediately,” says McDermott.
Finally, based on your feedback, we have started two new weekly newsletters. Gerry Thornley’s Counter Ruck (sign-up here) deals with all things rugby, while our personal finance team will help you make smart financial decisions in On The Money.
As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews, tips for the best restaurants in our food section and all the latest Six Nations reports, reaction and analysis in our sport section. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.
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