
Ministers squeeze out more spin, not savings
Less than two weeks ago, the Taoiseach was confidently telling us that his Government was going to “squeeze the maximum” amount in savings from the Croke Park Agreement. His assurance came on the back of a week of indecision and confusion from his Health Minister.

Just like ‘Dallas’ shower scene, ministers think it’s a bad dream
LAST Tuesday the Taoiseach deftly slipped into his office before disability campaigners gathered outside Government Build-ings to protest against his Government and his Health Minister’s health cuts. While he arrived in time to avoid the protesters, he did not manage to elude the cameras. He

Kenny finds the facts get in the way of fiction
Though he is said to have uttered it during a radio debate, Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s great phrase — “You’re entitled to your own opinions. You’re not entitled to your own facts” — could have been coined with Enda Kenny in mind. While we have seen

Chris exposed as a bit of a ‘sockmuppet’
Last week, the Sunday Independent broke the story that a former parliamentary colleague of mine, Chris Andrews, was the person behind several hundred anonymous tweets attacking Fianna Fail. To say I was taken aback by this news is an understatement, not least because I was

The Bank Bonuses Bill
Last Wednesday I published a short and long overdue piece of legislation: The Bank Bonuses Bill. If the government accepts this Bill in September then we can at last do something to tackle the continuing scandal of bank bosses awarding themselves excessive bonuses. It is

Burton must come clean on surge in Disability Allowance rejections
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Social Protection Willie O’Dea TD has written to the Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton requesting a detailed explanation for the surge in rejected applications for the Disability Allowance. Deputy O’Dea said if stricter criteria have been put in place under