Gerard Howlin

The vote - to be held four weeks from today - is an important experiment in extending local government. A lot rests on voters’ choice

In the past, there was a formula which ensured that the worse things were, the more money you got. That’s no longer the case

Series of flip-flops by Sinn Féin on hate speech, the Nature Restoration Law, and the recent referendums raises questions. If they can’t speak clearly for themselves, how can they speak for us?

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil TDs know they are franchisees of brands in decline

Sinn Féin has succeeded in becoming an establishment party, but perhaps too convincingly for its own good

The party decided not to be the party of change on climate change, which may be a smart political calculation, but comes at a cost

The problem isn’t the overrun - it is that the cost was grossly underestimated and all the information the market needed to squeeze the Government was made public

There are no signs that the lightening of the mood is helping the Government parties. But it’s not necessarily good for Sinn Féin either

Politics is now increasingly a zero-sum contest seeking only tactical advantage

Unable to afford their own homes or save for a pension, they’ll have to carry the burden of paying for the pensions of the home-owning generation. More must be asked of older people

Accommodating asylum seekers and refugees is a medium-sized infrastructure problem in danger of imminent political contamination by the far right

Sinn Féin rode wave of support on core social issues, but the context has now changed to law, order and immigration

Too many of our 13 MEPs are in peripheral groups, where little real power is exercised. Thirty per cent of Ireland’s parliamentary presence is in a group that comprises just over 5 per cent of the parliament

Ireland cannot sustain a bigger state on our current tax base

Just as a government worthy of the name must pass a budget that is credible, the health service must be able to live within its allocation