John Hume’s legacy: Stubborn figure transformed the relationship between Britain and IrelandPolitician had self-belief to repeat same message for decades until eventually it was accepted by almost everybodyMon Aug 03 2020 - 11:05
Stephen Collins: Coalition is doomed unless it learns to fight backThe way it caved in on relatively minor issues like stopping the PUP and ministerial pay does not augur wellFri Jul 31 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Summit outcome gives credence to Ireland being 'tiny diplomatic superpower'The State has left Hanseatic League allies high and dry on bloc’s Covid-19 responseFri Jul 24 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Micheál Martin brought political chaos on his own headFianna Fáil leader must take advantage of the Apple tax decision to reboot as TaoiseachFri Jul 17 2020 - 01:00
Taoiseach needs to show zero tolerance for dubious ministerial behaviourNew Government has an opportunity to build on trust public has shown over recent monthsFri Jul 10 2020 - 01:00
Storey funeral a reminder that IRA army council runs Sinn FéinEpisode should alert the wider electorate to what a vote for the party meansFri Jul 03 2020 - 01:00
Why Ireland should be proud of Daniel O’Connell and his Dublin statueStephen Collins: Ireland can take pride in its statue of towering anti-slavery figureFri Jun 26 2020 - 01:00
Establishing his authority will be Martin’s first priorityCoalition’s ability to govern effectively will depend on high level of trust between party leadersFri Jun 19 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Divided Greens will make for unstable coalitionTrust and discipline key to capacity of next government for decisive actionFri Jun 12 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: FG and FF seem oblivious to the daily SF assault they suffer on social mediaFianna Fáil and Fine Gael not at the races in online war of wordsFri Jun 05 2020 - 01:00
Lockdown must be eased to stop Ireland returning to the 1980sStephen Collins: State will be plunged into worst of all worlds if action is not takenFri May 29 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Crisis inspires fact-based debate and solidarityCovid-19 corrals Irish politics and journalism towards science and solutionsFri May 22 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: False sense of security prevails on Covid-19 costsPoliticians need to be frank about scale of the economic crisis aheadFri May 15 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: FF and FG are afraid of what a Green deal might do to themWhatever is agreed between negotiating teams will have to be ratified by party membersFri May 08 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Co-operation vital for Covid-19 recoveryIt would be a positive development if the Greens decide to enter governmentFri May 01 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Choice may now be support from Independents or new electionSome of the State’s most successful administrations have been propped up by IndependentsFri Apr 24 2020 - 01:00
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s reckless manifesto offers a recipe for disasterStephen Collins: Smaller parties are right to be sceptical of blank cheque offered in documentFri Apr 17 2020 - 01:00
Government formation hinges on Labour under Alan KellySocial Democrats and Greens have deliberately ruled themselves out of coalitionFri Apr 10 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: The cliche Ireland has 'a third world' health service was never remotely trueContinuing national solidarity will be needed for economic recovery in wake of Covid-19Fri Apr 03 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: FG and FF will struggle to create stable majorityMomentous decisions already made to fight Covid-19 but another coalition partner vitalFri Mar 27 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Varadkar should hold power until crisis endsLevel of trust inspired by the Taoiseach on Tuesday night will be needed for what is aheadFri Mar 20 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Coronavirus has put the skids under government formationGreens must decide if they are serious about being in GovernmentFri Mar 13 2020 - 01:40
Fine Gael’s sulking will further erode public confidence in our democracyStephen Collins: Sinn Féin’s rallies show the need for other parties to get on with forming governmentFri Feb 28 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Reluctance of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to govern understandableOne in three voters bought idea that Ireland is a hellhole in need of radical left policiesFri Feb 21 2020 - 01:50
Stephen Collins: The loss suffered by FF and FG is no reason to hand power over to SFSome 70% did not vote for hard left - parties must hold nerve at critical junctureFri Feb 14 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Howlin can bow out with some satisfactionLabour leader leaves party in better shape than when he took over leadershipThu Feb 13 2020 - 01:17
Housing and health the most important issues, exit poll showsSignificant differences across the age groups evident on issuesSun Feb 09 2020 - 18:41
Detailed election 2020 exit poll results: How voters answered 15 questionsVoters rated housing and health as by far the most important issues by far for themSun Feb 09 2020 - 15:43
Election 2020 analysis: Sinn Féin surge shows generational splitFine Gael won only 15.5% of the votes among the youngest 18-24 age groupSun Feb 09 2020 - 08:44
Ireland’s voting system: How does it work and how should I use it?PR-STV, or single transferable vote, is one of most flexible, subtle systems in the worldFri Feb 07 2020 - 12:03
Sinn Féin’s rhetoric is dangerous and its exclusion from power is justifiedStephen Collins: SF’s strategy shares traits with that of Europe’s far-right partiesFri Feb 07 2020 - 01:00
Stephen Collins: Donohoe and Coveney need to shift narrativeHealth and housing focus may obscure looming threats of Brexit and economicsFri Jan 31 2020 - 01:00
Seamus Mallon: Fractured relationship with Irish political leadersFormer Seanad member fell out with Charles Haughey, had a blazing row with Garret Fitzgerald and felt let down by Bertie AhernFri Jan 24 2020 - 18:49
Stephen Collins: Varadkar and Martin’s jobs are both on the lineSF-leaning wing of FF may get rid of Martin, while threats loom for TaoiseachFri Jan 24 2020 - 01:00
A Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil grand coalition could be what the country needsStephen Collins: Performance of Greens and Labour will be key to outcome of this electionFri Jan 17 2020 - 12:57
A meeting of minds – An Irishman’s Diary on Brendan Ó Cathaoir and the diary of Elizabeth Mathew DillonTue Jan 07 2020 - 18:30
Department of the Marine frustrating salmon farmingMost consumers are unaware the salmon they eat is all farmed, as is sea bass and troutThu Jan 02 2020 - 06:00
Phil Hogan: 'A no-deal Brexit would pour salt into the wounds'Preserving the integrity of the single market remains EU trade commissioner’s top priorityMon Dec 30 2019 - 03:01
Johnson will abandon pledge on Brexit transition period - HoganEU commissioner believes British PM will abandon promise not to extendMon Dec 30 2019 - 03:00
What ever happened to the Irish salmon farming industry?A staggering level of official incompetence combined with scaremongering has seen Ireland fall far behind Norway and ScotlandThu Dec 26 2019 - 06:00
Stephen Collins: UK election shows a Border poll is not a priorityElection proves voters primarily care about getting Northern Ireland working againFri Dec 20 2019 - 06:00
Stephen Collins: Brexit crisis gave Donohoe way to lower expectationsAvoidance of profligacy a fine template for dealing with future corporate tax fallFri Dec 13 2019 - 06:00
Warning signs for Fine Gael in byelection resultsDramatic increase in support for Greens and significant recovery by LabourFri Dec 06 2019 - 06:00
Stephen Collins: Varadkar, Martin right to rebuff united Ireland citizens’ assemblyIrish nationalism has realised that co-operation rather than conflict is a far better routeFri Nov 29 2019 - 06:00
Stephen Collins: Our system favours chancers and crooksUtterly disproportionate awards for often trivial injuries have become the normFri Nov 22 2019 - 06:00
Election 2020: Greens and Labour can hold key to which big party leads governmentParty which emerges largest from next election more likely to call shots in coalitionFri Nov 15 2019 - 02:00
Stephen Collins: Time for pandering to gunmen is overLight touch policing has left Cavan-Fermanagh Border in thrall to republican criminalsFri Nov 08 2019 - 07:37
Stephen Collins: Stop the dangerous guff about a united IrelandIt is essential the Government is clear in rejecting Sinn Féin’s Border poll demandFri Nov 01 2019 - 06:00
Stephen Collins: London’s next U-turn may be on free tradeBluster made British slow to perceive that EU solidarity bolstered Ireland with powerFri Oct 25 2019 - 06:00
Stephen Collins: Brexit deal reveals politics at its best and worstUK departure saga from EU shows that political compromise a virtue rather than a viceFri Oct 18 2019 - 06:00
