Infrastructure Shane Coleman: 7 million reasons to fix our infrastructure messIreland’s rapidly growing population offers a huge opportunity to build an incredible country but we need to change our mindset on housing, healthcare and energy provision
Opinion Inheritance tax madness harks back to days of stamp duty guff It might be 2024, but there are worrying echoes of 2004 as we head into the general election
Sport Shane Coleman: Failure to make Euros is a damning indictment of our failure to invest in soccerUnlike other countries in Europe, we have starved our games of requisite funding to foster delivery of quality players
Opinion Shane Coleman: Put this government out of its misery and let’s have a September electionSimon Harris and his administration should go to the country in September as dragging it out any longer, especially until March, would be bonkers
Local and European Elections Shane Coleman: Ten major lessons we learned from last weekend’s electionsWith the counting now done and all seats filled, a number of issues have become clear, with all eyes now turning to when Taoiseach Simon Harris will call the general election
Opinion Shane Coleman: Election 2024 proves to be a very decent day for political centre But it was distinctly underwhelming one for Sinn Féin which, despite winning back seats lost in 2019, now seems stuck in a downward spiral that it can’t escape
Opinion Shane Coleman: Here is how I see the elections playing outDespite the odds, Fianna Fáil could well return as the largest party at local government level
Politics Sinn Féin is in crisis and has been for a year as it loses the ‘big mo’Either Simon Harris or Micheál Martin is now more likely to be the next Taoiseach than Mary Lou McDonald
Opinion Shane Coleman: ‘Palpable sense of menace’ among the few place politicians in genuine harm’s way Assassination attempt on Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico the latest in an increasing trend of violence against those in high office
Opinion Shane Coleman: Irish politics shifting to the right as migration dominates debateWith four weeks to go until the local and European elections, parties and candidates advocating a tougher line on migrants are finding succour among voters
Brexit Shane Coleman: British Government appeared crass, our own coalition callow in bitter migration spatSuspicion is Simon Harris already regrets his decision to reappoint Helen McEntee to Justice, but having made the decision, he has to stick with her
Comment Shane Coleman: For too long, the health service has served the people who work in it and not patientsHeartbreaking case of Aoife Johnston’s death in University Hospital Limerick will for many confirm the narrative that our health service is fundamentally broken
Comment It is hard to believe you are well off in your 20s and still have to sleep in your childhood bed The single biggest determinant of whether you would vote for Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael versus one of the opposition parties is whether you own a house
Comment Shane Coleman: Sanctimonious and populist Social Democrats yet to prove they are ready for powerLeader Holly Cairns is electorally untested but her party could well hold the balance of power after next election
Comment Shane Coleman: Michael McDowell may have a second coming, but he is not the messiahThe former attorney general and tánaiste has become a major thorn in the side of government, but let’s not kid ourselves that he is the saviour of Irish politics
Comment Hate speech retreat shows no political mileage in being ‘right-on’ anymoreIn this post-referendum meltdown, Simon Harris needs a Sir Humphrey to buy time until the general election on the Hate Speech bill
Comment Harris’ job is to get Fine Gael back to 25 per cent and steady the ship If Harris wants to be re-elected, any progress made cannot come at the expense of Fianna Fáil who he will need
Comment Shane Coleman: The eight critical lessons to learn from referendum wipe-outsRecrimination, back-biting and sniping needs to be set aside if any sense is to be made from public’s repudiation of proposed changes to the constitution
Comment Should Taoiseach Boycott Washington? Absolutely not, but he should kick Joe Biden’s shins over Palestine failureLeo Varadkar must ignore calls to snub White House visit in protest over US failure to stop Israeli aggression
Comment Shane Coleman: Disgraceful and farcical actions of TDs let Catherine Martin off the hookMinister’s appearance had massive advance billing, but in reality it was less her Waterloo and more the Battle of Widow McCormack’s Cabbage Patch