Budget 2024: The table, the couch and the art of pulling a budget togetherExpect architects McGrath and Donohoe to be cautious and unshowy on Tuesday, despite political pressure to spend billions in surplusesSat Oct 07 2023 - 07:00
What does it cost to run Ireland per year? Which costs most: education, health or retirees?Your pre-Budget guide to how much tax the State earns per annum and how it spends itSat Oct 07 2023 - 05:45
Budget 2024: ‘Targeted’ mortgage relief planned for homeowners hit by interest rate hikesPeople on fixed rates are unlikely to qualify under proposed scheme which will be discussed by Ministers over the weekendSat Oct 07 2023 - 04:30
Budget 2024: Frantic final days of negotiations as deadline looms without agreementHealth bailout and temporary measures made permanent could squeeze ministers’ room for manoeuvreFri Oct 06 2023 - 06:00
Budget 2024: Donnelly privately warns drug firms no funds for new medicines are likely due to health overrunsFinal agreement on health overspend has not been reached as negotiations between party leaders continueThu Oct 05 2023 - 06:00
Sinn Féin’s alternative budget is carefully calculated not to scare off the middle groundParty’s tax hikes would hurt the wealthy – but they wouldn’t hurt most peopleWed Oct 04 2023 - 19:23
Social Democrats target tax hikes to fund spending increases in healthcare and housingThe party also said it would spend an additional €1.1 billion on housing while it would take much of the surplus of corporation tax receipts to deal with energy costs and fund a ‘climate transformation’Wed Oct 04 2023 - 13:44
Budget 2024: Economic growth forecast sharply cut by ESRIMinister confirms tax from companies expected to undershoot forecast as budget preparations continueWed Oct 04 2023 - 05:00
Justice trouble for Helen McEntee could dent any leadership ambitionsChallenges of the job have a habit of taking a toll on careers of those who hold itTue Oct 03 2023 - 17:03
Irish corporation tax revenues slip 12% to €1.8bn in September as budget day nearsExchequer returns show workers and businesses paid €61.4bn to State in first nine months of 2023Tue Oct 03 2023 - 16:05
Budget 2024 set to be an exercise in balancing expectations with resourcesAn election looms in the near future and this Coalition trails in the polls, so party leaders will expect the budget to lift political fortunesMon Oct 02 2023 - 19:00
Irish public takes a tough line on RTÉ as poll data suggests revolt against TV licence fee will continueIrish Times poll analysis: Something fundamental seems to have shifted in the way many people think about RTÉ – or at least in the way they think about paying for itSat Sept 30 2023 - 07:00
We ‘will in our arse’ have an Irish NHSAn ‘Irish NHS’ is an oft-repeated pledge from Sinn Féin. But is it a threat or a promise?Sat Sept 30 2023 - 06:45
RTÉ pay controversy: 40% of people say they will not pay licence fee in wake of disclosuresIrish Times/Ipsos opinion poll finds only a third of respondents believe Ryan Tubridy should return to broadcaster, while large majority back cost cuttingSat Sept 30 2023 - 06:00
Mary Lou McDonald most popular choice for taoiseach, Irish Times/Ipsos poll findsFour in ten voters want Sinn Féin in next Government, but party also faces most oppositionFri Sept 29 2023 - 06:00
Irish Times poll analysis: Sinn Féin will have to compromise if Mary Lou McDonald is to make historyIrish Times/Ipsos poll: Mary Lou McDonald is voters’ clear choice for Taoiseach, but her party fares worseFri Sept 29 2023 - 06:00
Sinn Féin extends lead to stay on course to be largest party in next Dáil, latest opinion poll showsSinn Fein has increased again, they lead Fianna Fáil by 14 points while Mary Lou McDonald remains the most popular leaderThu Sept 28 2023 - 06:00
Poll analysis: Parties big and small being squeezed by Sinn Féin juggernautRepeat of current coalition seems unlikely as combined support of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens now at 41%Thu Sept 28 2023 - 06:00
Expectation mounts that referendum on women’s ‘duties in the home’ unlikely in 2023There are continuing doubts in Government about whether the vote will take place at allTue Sept 26 2023 - 06:00
Reducing tax on rental income among budget proposals for keeping landlords in market Budget 2024: Fraught pre-budget negotiations made worse by expected €1bn health overspendTue Sept 26 2023 - 06:00
Ireland has had three books on Covid but still no inquiry. What’s going on?The long-awaited Covid inquiry should shed light on how Holohan, Varadkar, Martin and others communicated and reached their decisionsSat Sept 23 2023 - 06:00
McEntee wants to use anti-terror legislation to prevent future intimidation by far-right protestersOffences Against the State Act to be considered with enhanced security around Dáil on budget daySat Sept 23 2023 - 05:00
Dáil authorities face dilemma over protestsTightening security could be seen as giving far-right activists the confrontation they desireFri Sept 22 2023 - 17:05
Flat atmosphere in Leinster House overshadowed by chaos outsideMary Lou McDonald hits her stride after surgery as scandal around Temple Street hospital deepensThu Sept 21 2023 - 08:07
Plan for ‘cashless’ National Car Test system may be shelved after ministerial orderMcGrath indicates to Coalition colleagues that public bodies under their remit should maintain existing payment methods regarding cashWed Sept 20 2023 - 17:51
Keep accepting cash payments, Michael McGrath tells public bodiesMinister’s move follows criticism of announcement by National Car Testing Service that it would no longer take cashWed Sept 20 2023 - 12:18
Budget to dominate as Dáil returns with a few notable absenteesMuch chatter about Coalition leaders’ decision to biff off to New York for the first week as spectre of election loomsWed Sept 20 2023 - 07:59
Budget 2024: Ministers dampen expectations amid warnings to control inflation‘We’ll do the very best we can . . . but we won’t be able meet all of the demands that are there,’ says Minister for Finance Michael McGrath in advance of Budget 2024Wed Sept 20 2023 - 06:00
One-off budget giveaways will be less than last year to avoid firing inflation, McGrath saysMinister for Finance says ‘help for people’ will be forthcoming but not all demands will be metTue Sept 19 2023 - 18:37
RTÉ will get its bailout, but the terms and conditions will be painfulA common political view aired privately is that RTÉ is as not as much a special case as it seems to thinkSat Sept 16 2023 - 06:45
Mortgage relief benefit may be revived, but only for those in difficultyGovernment mulls possibility of postponing fuel duty increase as it considers assistance for worst-hit mortgage holders onlySat Sept 16 2023 - 06:00
Paschal Donohoe: ‘Not spending every cent you have is the best insurance policy’Minister for Public Expenditure on keeping a surplus, RTÉ funding and ‘case for centrism’ amid budget wranglingWed Sept 13 2023 - 16:17
RTÉ paid €650,000 in car allowances last year with no proof of licence requiredDocuments submitted by RTÉ in advance of media committee hearing show various allowances worth €4.1 millionTue Sept 12 2023 - 16:36
Era of runaway increases in Ireland’s corporation tax receipts is over, McGrath says Minister for Finance says ‘Ireland isn’t bulletproof’ from the current global economic downturnTue Sept 12 2023 - 11:55
What is Fianna Fáil doing for under-35s, on housing, transport and healthcare?The party cites free contraception for women under 30 and the recent extension of free GP careTue Sept 12 2023 - 06:10
Budget 2024: TDs at Fianna Fáil think-in believe USC cuts are on the cardsTax reform and cuts to Universal Social Charge among measures discussed in advance of 2024 BudgetMon Sept 11 2023 - 21:07
A week of political think-ins heralds start of autumn’s political term Party fests have occasionally provided iconic political moments, and unwelcome publicityMon Sept 11 2023 - 05:00
Leo Varadkar to visit Belfast to unveil €1bn peace fund The Peaceplus programme will fund projects across six key themes designed to ensure the continued economic, social, and environmental development of Northern Ireland'Mon Sept 11 2023 - 05:00
Budget 2024: McGrath and Donohoe set to resist demands for increased spending Senior departmental sources play down media reports that budget package would be as large as last year’sSun Sept 10 2023 - 19:55
Next-gen politicians should study how Richard Bruton worked the levers of powerEvery politician who warbles about change needs to understand how difficult it is to achieveSun Sept 10 2023 - 07:00
Richard Bruton: ‘Politics is much more about emotion than about evaluating evidence’After more than 40 years in the Dáil, the Fine Gael TD reflects on his political career following his announcement earlier this week to retireFri Sept 08 2023 - 15:30
Cabinet returns to discuss RTÉ funding crisis as licence fee income continues to fallAutumn shortfalls at RTÉ expected to grow but Ministers wary of ‘blank cheque’ approach to problemWed Sept 06 2023 - 05:00
Richard Bruton: four decades in politics but few enemies, despite heave against Enda Kenny’s leadershipRichard Bruton's decision to retire at the next general election will deprive Fine Gael of a sharp intellect and rarely-matched wealth of political experienceTue Sept 05 2023 - 17:49
Pat Leahy: What is this Government actually for, beyond not being Sinn Féin?Far from looking determined, the Coalition seems cowed by the challenge from Sinn FéinSat Sept 02 2023 - 06:45
Martin McGuinness wanted Gerry Adams to step aside as Sinn Féin leader after brother’s abuse caseAdams party leader for 35 years until 2018 when handing over control uncontested to Mary Lou McDonaldSat Sept 02 2023 - 05:00
Smaller parties to be squeezed by constituency changes as Dáil grows by 14 TDs Electoral Commission: Bigger parties, especially Sinn Féin, are likely to be happier with plans publishedThu Aug 31 2023 - 05:00
Additional seats in constituency review mollify larger parties over boundary changes It’s a lot more difficult for smaller parties to win in three-seat constituenciesThu Aug 31 2023 - 05:00
Electoral boundaries review: How did your constituency fare?New constituency boundaries sees Dublin gain five extra seats, with one new constituency in Fingal, while new three-seat Wicklow-Wexford constituency also announcedWed Aug 30 2023 - 19:44
Inside Politics: ‘Constituency redraws can be career-making or career-breaking’A big day for politicians as they await recommendations from the Electoral Commission for changes to the make-up of constituenciesWed Aug 30 2023 - 07:09
Doubts grow over ‘women in the home’ referendumConcern in Government that campaign could lead to divisive debatesMon Aug 28 2023 - 05:00
