Gerard Howlin

Disjointed responses to different humanitarian crises are dictated by their distance, our convenience and political opportunism

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

A short history of political advisers in Ireland, from the early 1990s to today

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

Budget day saw rare flashes of leadership but these were overshadowed by imprudent overspending

We have EU-wide responsibilities that are enormous in scale and consequence

If there is a slam dunk election in the making, it is an inside job, and Martin is a chief architect

We are under-prepared and ill-equipped for the real threats to our sovereignty

Leo Varadkar’s support for roads is nostalgia for a world suffocating on its own emissions

Self-referential news cycle prioritising this controversy in the face of climate breakdown is a deadly extension of fake news

A grassroots organisation aims to equip women with the skills, knowledge and confidence to run in local elections

In terms of gender, the Dáil is barely more representative than the ascendancy parliament in the eighteenth century. A culture change is needed

He cannot behave now as if he is still on the hustings, because it changes the future as well as the present

Gerard Howlin: Decarbonisation politics is led by competition between Sinn Féin and Fine Gael for the rural vote

Gerard Howlin: The Tánaiste’s next move could be European Commissioner, President of the Council, President of Ireland or even rotating Taoiseach. The outlook for the party is grimmer

Gerard Howlin: It further imbalances an already out of kilter tax system, again, against the young

Gerard Howlin: As any other civil servant could have told him, if you can fake sincerity, you’ve got it made

US president identifies as Irish in America but he visits Ireland as an American, a foreigner, albeit one with close ties of affection

Expediency drives decisions on issues such as increased pension age and wealth tax, all of which would benefit the young

It was not working and did nothing to address the deep dysfunction in housing policy

Economically Ireland has no right-of-centre politics, and public spending has jumped by a third since the 2016 election

The domestication of Sinn Féin and a belief by government that it could contain the issue kept it at the fringes. Until now

If Ireland is increasingly a political melting pot, huge structural change in TD numbers turns up the heat

Minister is getting a chance Fine Gael denied Alan Shatter, Frances Fitzgerald and Phil Hogan

We maximise our capacity to party, minimise our personal exposure to the consequences and has enough of the balm of action to allow us have a very good time and feel good about ourselves

Gerard Howlin: The ex-minister was badly treated by a political system that still won’t say sorry

Only two ships are available to patrol our 132,000sq-mile economic zone, which is 16% of EU waters

Climate Action Plan will apply legal pressure on civil servants and State agencies to ensure carbon reduction is intrinsic to plans and budgets