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John Mcmanus

John Mcmanus

The Irish Times

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Irish students have been protesting over Gaza for months. Why are we only noticing them now?

Student protests over Israel’s war in Gaza failed to take off here in recent months in the same way that have in the US, despite the best efforts of...

monday 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

How long more is the Government going to cling to the fiction that 30,000 new homes is enough?

There seems to be a general acceptance, behind the scenes at least, in Government that the game is up when it comes to the targets set in Housing for...

25.04.2024 40

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Helen McEntee frets about knife crime, although the evidence fails to show a big rise

Fine Gael Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is a bit worried about knife crime. There is, she says, a “small and incremental problem here in...

19.04.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Do not expect insurance premiums to come down any time soon

Anyone hoping for a big reduction in their insurance premiums following last week’s Supreme Court decision should not hold their breath. This...

15.04.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Government has quietly shelved its plan to end direct provision

The direct provision system is something of a stain on the national conscience, drawing criticism from human rights organisations both at home and...

04.04.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Will Bill to ban investment in illegal Israeli settlements have any real impact?

The Bill put forward by Sinn Féin to ban Irish State investment in businesses operating in illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank would...

27.03.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Empathy lessons for schoolchildren: a waste of time or a valuable pursuit?

You would assume that the proposal to give 15- to 16-year-olds lessons in empathy as part of a revised transition year syllabus would be...

13.03.2024 8

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

From bank holidays to pensions, life should be better than ever for workers. So why is it not?

Given its ever-so-slightly right-of-centre composition, this Government has introduced a surprising number of measures that might be considered to...

07.03.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Sending the C&AG into RTÉ is a pointless exercise – full of sound and fury, signifying nothing

In the absence of any better ideas for how to put out the fire at RTÉ, the Government seems quite taken with the idea of sending in the Comptroller...

27.02.2024 7

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Metrolink is going to cost a fortune, but perhaps we have got the infrastructure costs we deserve

Leading the charge on the first day of the An Bord Pleanála oral hearing into the long-awaited Metrolink were Micheal McDowell and Colm McCarthy....

22.02.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Kneecap sues the UK Secretary of State. This is going to be entertaining

Kneecap, in case you’re not aware, are the Belfast rap trio currently enjoying a bit of a moment. For the purposes of research, I listened to their...

14.02.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

DUP’s claims of ‘significant further advances’ don’t stack up

The word salad that is the Windsor Framework has been tossed and has now settled in a way that is more appetising to Jeffrey Donaldson and the DUP....

09.02.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Can the success of the plastic bag levy be replicated with bottles and cans?

The Re-turn scheme launched today puts us among the select group of EU states – roughly a third – to have a deposit-based scheme for recycling...

01.02.2024 20

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Elon Musk has ratcheted up his feud with the Irish Government. It should just ignore him

Depending on how you view these things Elon Musk can lay claim to being one of the most influential, if not most powerful, people on the planet. So...

25.01.2024 9

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Perverse incentives reward those who drive around for years without a full licence

The news that almost 6,500 people booked and paid for a driving test but didn’t show up to take it is just the latest example of the absurdity at...

15.01.2024 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

There’s no moral argument for the State to subsidise private schools. Just a pragmatic one

What happens if the state stops funding private schools? Private school fees are on the rise and discussion about whether the State should keep on...

21.12.2023 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Exodus of small landlords from the market has been greatly exaggerated

There was a great deal of noise in the run-up to the last budget about the exodus of small landlords from the market and reasons for their departure....

15.12.2023 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

Sellafield leaks: How alarmed should we be about reports of discharge at nuclear waste plant?

This week the Guardian has been running a series of exposés about safety at Sellafield, the nuclear waste reprocessing plant on the west coast of...

07.12.2023 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

What do liquefied natural gas and contraception have in common?

The expression “an Irish solution to an Irish problem” is well embedded in our political lexicon at this stage. One of the greatest proponents of...

17.11.2023 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

McVerry Trust has been bailing the Government out for a decade. It’s time the favour was repaid

The Minster for Housing Darragh O’Brien seems a little ambivalent about the idea of rescuing the Peter McVerry Trust. Speaking at the recent Fianna...

13.11.2023 10

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

On a roadtrip though Bosnia and Herzegovina, the enduring legacy of war is evident everywhere

There are two main routes from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo. The first leaves the Croatian port city and heads north crossing into Bosnia Herzegovina and...

30.10.2023 6

The Irish Times

John Mcmanus

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