The Last Post Matt Cooper: It’s not practical politics to make people pay over half their extra earnings in tax The surpluses raise legitimate questions as to how long the goverment can maintain the ‘temporary’ USC when it is taking in more money in taxes than it needs to spend
The Last Post High impact: can rugby tough it out against an unforgiving future?Even if all our dreams of a tilt at the World Cup and Champions Cup come true this year, rugby is still a sport facing overwhelming challenges
The Last Post Matt Cooper: Liverpool FC transfer rumours raise questions about club’s futureThe football club was recently valued at £3.6 billion, but if FSG, its American owner, sells up, what will it mean for the team beloved of so many Irish fans?
The Last Post Matt Cooper: Is Denis O’Brien hoping out of sight is out of mind on the Siteserv findings?The billionaire businessman, in the past notably litigious and visible in the media, has stayed silent as the draft findings of the Siteserv inquiry emerge
twitter Matt Cooper: Our president’s generalisations about private enterprise are not helpfulWe may not agree with Elon Musk but the reality is that he and other billionaire entrepreneurs have done a great deal to accelerate innovations to combat the climate crisis
Matt Cooper: McDonagh’s departure from BoI brings bankers’ pay back into focus If politicians insist that the bank’s new boss is paid a maximum of €500,000, the share price will likely fall further and Irish pension funds may suffer
Matt Cooper: Le Pen as leader of France would be huge threat to EU from within In hock to Putin and Russian banks, determined to rewrite the constitution and deny immigrants their rights, Marine Le Pen as French president would set her country on a collision course with the European Union
Matt Cooper: Megalomanic Musk plays to his fanboys with his ‘disruptive’ bid for TwitterThe Tesla and SpaceX millionaire has cited free speech concerns and ‘the future of civilisation’ as driving his Twitter ambitions.
Matt Cooper: Musk’s Twitter move may give him even more reach than old-style media mogulsThe Tesla tycoon, who joined the board of Twitter last week, is a force of nature who may well seek to bend the social media platform to his will
Matt Cooper: The DAA needs a priority check on its decision to do a deal with Saudi ArabiaThe Dublin Airport Authority last week celebrated winning a five-year contract with Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for its poor human rights record
Matt Cooper: It’s the wrong time for Sinn Féin to push the EU on support for a united Ireland The party seems tone deaf to how such a request from a wealthy member state comes across to other nations reeling from the Ukraine conflict
Matt Cooper: How can Britain be the guarantor for a Ukrainian peace deal when it has shown such bad faith on Brexit?
Matt Cooper: The collapse of Abramovich’s empire lays bare the devalued standards of the British Premier LeagueChelsea Football Club, which lived off financial top-ups from its Russian owner for 19 years, should not now be given public funds to pay the eye-watering wages of players
Matt Cooper: Long overdue end to vexatious gagging writs may be on the way So called ‘anti-Slapp’ measures that form part of justice minister Helen McEntee’s proposed reform of the defamation laws may prevent powerful people muzzling media comment with threats of legal action
Matt Cooper: Big Phil’s own words could land any damages case in the bunkerThe former EU Commissioner may be considering demanding compensation for the ‘damage suffered’ when he had to step down, but he is very unlikely to get it
Matt Cooper: No amount of Metaverse guff can distract from Zuckerberg’s failingsThe Facebook founder concentrated on the future in his message to his ‘Metamates’ last week, but the company’s best days may already be behind it
Matt Cooper: Delaney-era guff will not help FAI win trust, or a men’s team sponsorThough it puts forward some grand and worthy plans, the association’s new strategy document is vague about where the money will come from
Matt Cooper: Greenwood allegations are about more than football for Man United Even if the footballer is not charged or if charged, he is found not guilty, the club faces an ethical question, not a commercial one
Matt Cooper: It’s not yet time to yell ‘Cut’, but Netflix’s best days may be overThe streaming behemoth is an extraordinary success, with 222 million viewers worldwide, but faces stiff competition from the likes of Disney and Amazon
Matt Cooper: Whatever trouble may be ahead, let’s face the music and dance Fingers crossed that we’ve not acted too quickly in lifting restrictions, but with our society and economy on the brink, it’s a chance worth taking
