The Last Post USC is difficult to defend when massive surpluses exist and voters want money backOnly way for Harris to turn the dial with voters is to go big on eliminating the much-hated universal social charge
Comment Matt Cooper: Ask not what Eir can do for you, but what you do for EirThe company clearly hasn’t enjoyed the publicity of the last week, but it has probably worked out that customer inertia means most people will just put up with things
The Last Post Matt Cooper: Sinn Féin’s ‘angry/happy’ routine last week exposes fear of being outflanked by populists Mary Lou McDonald’s shortcomings as leader are in contrast to the sure-footed performance of Michelle O’Neill so far as the North’s first minister
The Last Post Matt Cooper: Costs of reunification must be central to debate on future of the North Predictions about a 25% hike in taxes to pay for it a year have quickly been poo-pooed by those who are striving for an end to partition
The Last Post Matt Cooper: It will take more than one speech to take back tricolour from those who besmirch it Winning ownership of the flag back from garda killers and racist thugs is no easy task
Politics The 13 things Simon Harris can learn from the Kenny and Varadkar erasThe incoming Taoiseach will be the third leader of Fine Gael in almost 22 years. Changes need to be made from his predecessors
Analysis Matt Cooper: Leo Varadkar saw the writing on the wall and wanted no part of it Varadkar is hoping his departure will do some favour to his embattled party
The Last Post Matt Cooper: O’Dea misfire on ‘woke’ gallery leaves him in questionable company Former minister and veteran TD has form in speaking out, but he should be more careful with whom he aligns himself
The Last Post Criticism of Central Bank power fuels Ireland’s growing bad rap A story in the Financial Times on the CBI’s ‘excessive’ fitness and probity regime should ring alarm bells here
The Last Post Matt Cooper: Green ministers all facing ill-winds as controversies pollute their watchRyan, Martin and O’Gorman are all on the back foot over their perceived poor performance since taking office
The Last Post Matt Cooper: DUP fears of Casement Park trojan horse towards a united Ireland may scupper its rebirth Jeffrey Donaldson knows that his voters are unlikely to be upset if non-gaelic football is never played at the ground but has no problem taking cash for roads
RTE in Crisis Wanted: Chair for a beleaguered, embattled and broke broadcasterRTÉ will struggle to find someone capable to fill the chair’s job after how Ní Raghallaigh was ousted, Matt Cooper writes
Aviation Matt Cooper: Tony Ryan’s idea of a second Dublin airport at Baldonnell has come of ageThe aviation visionary Tony Ryan’s idea of making Baldonnell into a secondary airport has been shot down on several occasions, but deserves consideration in light of Dublin Airport’s capacity constraints
Infrastructure Matt Cooper: Intel would never stand for the NCH cost overruns the state has overseenThe ballooning cost of the new National Children’s Hospital stands in stark contrast to Bam’s efficient work on Intel’s multi-billion-euro Leixlip expansion
The Last Post Matt Cooper: John Bruton was a misunderstood patriot who defied his caricatureMatt Cooper was editor of the Sunday Tribune when Bruton was Taoiseach and chronicled the ups and downs of his time in office
The Last Post Matt Cooper: Dee Forbes’ silence now deafening as her role in RTÉ shambles again front and centre In the absence of explanations, conclusions will be drawn as to culpability, but the former RTÉ boss is not the only one with questions to answer
The Last Post Matt Cooper: Finally, penny drops that treating drugs scourge as justice issue has utterly failedVaradkar’s belated conversion to examining health solutions needs to be backed up with money and resources
The Last Post Despite Sinn Féin sneering, McGrath was right to be in DavosShould Mary Lou McDonald find herself in power, the temptation for her to hobnob with the world’s richest will be too tempting to resist
The Last Post IDA chair Feargal O’Rourke: ‘People don’t believe me but tax is not the main reason firms come here’ The former managing partner at PWC on why he never followed his mother, Mary, into national politics
The Last Post Housing our ageing population is about to become a serious issueBy 2030 one in five people living in Ireland will be aged 65 or over, but even modest proposals to build suitable homes for them have run into planning problems