Ireland’s security is a recurring theme this weekend. In the latest in a series of stories on the threats to undersea cables off Irish waters, Public Policy Correspondent Martin Wall reports on a worst-case scenario set out by officials at the Department of Communications. A co-ordinated attack on multiple cables would “disconnect the entire island of Ireland from the global internet,” they warned.
Ireland’s spy services are also preoccupied with suspect ships in Irish waters. In a rare interview, one senior officer with the Irish Military Intelligence Service tells Crime and Security Correspondent Conor Gallagher of his concerns over the Russian shadow fleet – ageing ships used by Moscow to move sanctioned oil. Their primary risk to Ireland is environmental he says. “If one of these single-skinned 19-year-old tankers hits a bag of crisps off the Aran Islands, you now have millions of tonnes of oil in the water and there’s no more Wild Atlantic Way. We don’t have the capacity to deal with an oil slick that size,” he says.
Meanwhile, the security of Ireland’s energy supply has come under the spotlight since the US-Israeli attack on Iran staunched the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow gateway to the Gulf through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil flows. In his examination of the effects of the crisis on the cost of living in Ireland, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope finds it hitting people’s pockets in all kinds of ways, from the cost of food and fertiliser to home heating and holidays.
It galls Dubliners in the midst of a chronic housing crisis to see so many buildings in prime locations sitting derelict. It’s an issue Dublin Editor Olivia Kelly has covered from every angle. This weekend she reports on how owners of derelict buildings in Dublin are facing a crackdown under plans to impose millions of euro in levies on more than 350 additional vacant properties. In an accompanying piece, Kelly explains how Dublin City Council is taking a new approach to the problem by setting up a corporation dedicated to city regeneration. It has selected two streets, Middle Abbey Street and North Frederick Street, for a pilot that will test its carrot-and-stick approach to bringing abandoned buildings back into use.
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Last month, the Independent TD Michael Lowry learned that he would not face a criminal prosecution arising from a tribunal’s investigation into him. In Lowry’s base of Thurles, Co Tipperary, this week, Colm Keena spent time digging into the former Fine Gael minister’s many business and property interests. He also spoke to locals, who were effusive in their praise of Lowry. “Anyone here who has a bad word to say about the veteran Independent politician declines to be interviewed by The Irish Times,” Keena writes.
Ireland’s national retrofit scheme promises cosy homes and cost savings, but is it worth the effort or the money? In this comprehensive account, Climate and Science Correspondent Caroline O’Doherty speaks to people who have availed of the scheme and hears of widely varying experiences.
In our World section this weekend, our correspondent in France, Naomi O’Leary, writes about how the French capital is grappling with the popularity of the Netflix series Emily in Paris. London Correspondent Mark Paul reports from Norfolk on the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, while Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan reflects on the departure of US attorney general Pam Bondi.
Duggan writes: “No member of his executive had laughed as hard at the president’s cabinet table sit-down comedic routines as Bondi had; none had gone to such lengths to please him whether through stony denials in front of several committees on Capitol Hill to her shocking – and ultimately costly – willingness to denounce two Americans killed by Ice (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) agents in appalling language. None of it mattered.”
We have two new opinion columns this week. Róisín Ingle returns to her Saturday slot with a beautiful reflection on the idea of home, while Séamas O’Reilly, who joins our line-up of columnists from this weekend, writes about the role that that fada has played in his life.
You’ll find strong commentary across different sections of the site this weekend. David McWilliams believes Sinn Féin’s class-war language owes more to British culture than Irish; Cliff Taylor turns a sceptical eye to the household investment scheme that Minister for Finance Simon Harris keeps announcing in dribs and drabs; Maria Steen has little time for the gender pay gap agenda; and Joe Brennan suggests that Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary is about to face a test of his crisis management skills.
I’d recommend Ella McSweeney’s piece on why she is seeking a licence to shoot deer, as well as our package on the threats facing coastal communities in Ireland. Iris Möller explains why some may need to prepare for relocation, while an accompanying piece by Kevin Walsh identifies five of Ireland’s coastal exposure hotspots.
Finally, we have revealing interviews with the historian Antony Beever, the actor James McAvoy and the singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy.
Enjoy the Easter weekend.
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