O’Donoghue may be betting on a quick general election

The deferral of resignation until next week is incomprehensible, unless it is in the expectation (hope?) the government and the Dáil will fall before then and he (John O’Donoghue) will go into the election as sitting Ceann Comhairle with a guaranteed seat in the next Dáil. And the chances of that happening are not entirely remote.

O’Donoghue crisis masks reality that politics is now all about perks

The announced resignation of John O’Donoghue tonight (Tuesday, 6 October) was inevitable once first Sinn Fein, then Labour and, belatedly, Fine Gael pulled the plug on him. It raises questions about the survival of the government but, more critically, it underlines how politics here has become a tussle for the perks of office rather than anything substantive politically. There is no difference at all between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, they are in contest not at all over policy or strategy for this society, merely about office.

Party leaders collude over O’Donoghue expenses scandal

The issue now is not so much the wanton abuse of public funds by John O’Donoghue as Ceann Comhairle and previously as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, but the feeble reaction of the Opposition parties to the scandal and the continued complicity of Fianna Fail.

The Holocaust endures in German politics

The Holocaust Memorial in Berlin is a disappointment at first. It is just 2,711 dark grey concrete slabs, spread over 4.7 acres on a site close to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, across the road from the hideous new US embassy, 100 yards or so from the remains of the bunker where Hitler committed suicide on April 30,1945.

You feel nothing like the initial awe you get in front of Picasso’s Guernica in the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid. The initial impression at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial is of blandness.

Endorsing Lisbon Treaty another act of deference

We seem to be on our way to yet another act of abject deference. But then acts of deference are what we are best at. They are part of what we are.

Friday is to be the next day of deference, although perhaps Tuesday should be the National Day of Deference, for reasons that I will explain later. On Friday, we look set to endorse the Lisbon Treaty, reversing what we did in June last year for no reason other than deference.

Lisbon Treaty hides ticking time bomb of EU defence body

The Lisbon Treaty proposes to incorporate the European Defence Agency (EDA) within the institutional structure of the European Union. Among the tasks of the EDA will be to co-ordinate the military equipment of EU member states to ensure there is greater efficiency and synchronisation of the military capacities of member states in the conduct of humanitarian and peacekeeping projects. It also sponsors research on measures to improve the protection of military personnel engaged in such missions.

Taxpayers to bail out the lenders

The Zoe case in the High and Supreme Courts over the last few weeks has given a disquieting insight into the disposition of the banks, which suggests that Nama may be an even greater disaster than many of us feel. It also raises questions about the conduct of accountants, who will be crucial agents in how Nama works out.

Rank unfairness of tax plans is no surprise

Jean Baptiste Colbert was minister for finance during the regime of Louis XIV. He was credited with rescuing the French economy from bankruptcy in the middle of the 17th century. One of his successes was to extend the tax base beyond small landowners.

He offered the following advice on taxation policy: “The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least amount of hissing.” The quotation is displayed prominently in the museum of the Revenue Commissioners at Dublin Castle.

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