Columnists | Business Post

Eithne Shortall: Rules are for bending – particularly at Christmas

We all need a little sparkle this weather to brighten up the days – so put up the lights and the tree no matter how early it is

Marion McKeone: Bumper year for unions gives US workers plenty to be thankful for

Despite the country’s ongoing culture wars making Thanksgiving awkward for many, union members and families had quite a lot to celebrate

Eithne Shortall: Recycling is a load of old rubbish unless we all do it

A recent sting by a citizen journalist has me questioning our country’s disgraceful waste management system

Anton Savage: While everyone has a right to defend their reputation, lawyering up should be the last – not first – resort

There are many options when seeking resolution to a complaint, including approaching a newspaper or broadcaster directly, contacting the Press Council, writing a letter to the Ombudsman or sending a missive to the Media Commission

Nadine O’Regan: ‘Best Before’ wars in your kitchen? Put your faith in the mothers of the 1980s

M&S's plan to remove the Best Before warning from certain products should help to keep lots of edible food out of the recycle bin, but it comes too late to save the perfectly good food that was lost before its time

Kathleen MacMahon: It’s a mystery how writers ever find the time to put pen to paper

Is it any wonder the scraps of brilliant, unrealised ideas are piling up on my desk, with life knocking on the door every five minutes?

Anton Savage: ‘If the cross-examination of Heard goes in Depp’s favour, it will provide a public victory immeasurably valuable to him’

As Johnny Depp’s legal battle rumbles on, the Hollywood megastar is drawing more and more attention to the kind of accusations no celebrity’s career could previously have been expected to bear

Nadine O’Regan: Impressive, wise and bang up to date? That’d be Kim Cattrall, not the infamous TV reboot she turned down

The former Sex and the City star decided to give And Just Like That . . . a miss. Which turned out to be a very good call on her part

Esther O’Moore Donohoe: We must acknowledge and learn from our regrets, but then tell them to get in the sea

At a certain point, you have to show your inner regrets who the boss is and cut them off at the pass. But it’s not always that easy

Edel Coffey: Women are no longer willing to remain silent – our health depends on it

Although it was rightly criticised for its lack of diversity, the fact that a conference about women’s health in Ireland needed to be held at all told a story in itself

Andrea Cleary: Our unsustainable choices are going out of fashion like there’s no tomorrow

Fast-fashion retailers try to disguise environmental damage with organic cotton and buy-back schemes, but we can each make a real difference by turning to second-hand and repurposed clothes

Nadine O’Regan: You can’t ask for someone’s age in a job interview, so why do it to people we admire and for whom it may cause harm?

As the years accumulate, the prospect of becoming invisible to the opposite sex and being discriminated against in the workplace increases. Is it any wonder that women are reluctant to reveal their age?

Kathleen MacMahon: We must confront the darker side of our nature and hope against hope that wisdom will prevail

The human capacity to do horrific things to fellow individuals has always been hard for us to process, now more so than ever

Nadine O’Regan: Forgive us our frivolities, we need some respite from real-world issues

Between Covid, a general feeling of unease and war, who can blame us if we take occasional refuge in celebrity weddings and Derry Girls?

Anton Savage: Don’t let Le Pen and Putin ride high on anti-EU rhetoric

It is time we stopped taking Europe for granted and acknowledged all the benefits it has brought us

Nadine O’Regan: Playing the poor mouth is conduct unbecoming of a billionaire

Grimes and Elon Musk want to spare us the stories of their great wealth, but wouldn’t it be better if they told it like it was?

Susan O’Keeffe: Zelenskyy has no choice but to continue the diplomatic circus

It is profoundly disturbing that this exhausted man has to lobby country after country as Russia’s invasion continues

Esther O’Moore Donohoe: Perks and recreation are only one side of tech drone life

We tend to envy those who’ve landed seemingly cushy jobs with Big Tech, but there’s a reason why those offices are filled with flashy freebies and distractions

Edel Coffey: It takes courage to walk away from what you thought you wanted

Many people are shaking their heads at Ash Barty leaving tennis when she’s at the top of her game, but she’s absolutely right to put her own happiness first

Nadine O’Regan: Can Will Smith recover from the events of the past week? It depends on whether Hollywood likes him enough

The incident at the Oscars will be a test of how Will Smith is seen by his peers