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Sunday 24 September 2023 Dublin: 17°C

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Opinion: Donald Trump's victory is the shock therapy our broken democracies need
The mainstream today feel the way that the marginalised voter has felt about the direction of their country for some time now, writes Aaron McKenna.
'It is not enough to scoff at the rise of extremism, it needs to be stopped'
The rise of the extremist right is more insidious and worrying, writes Aaron McKenna.
Aaron McKenna: The little government that could… If the cynics will let it
Aaron McKenna thinks the current government could run two or three years and deliver on some real fundamental changes to the way that we run the country.
For some, like vicious sex attackers, indefinite imprisonment should be an option
Concurrent sentences sometimes make a farce of justice, writes Aaron McKenna.
What the children’s hospital tells us about public sector decision-making
In planning the project, political expediency and complacency took precedence over the actual needs of children, writes Aaron McKenna.
Google row: The EU has shown its contempt for success – and another reason to leave
The EU’s message to Google: thanks for the free operating system, guys. Please keep producing that, thanks. But you can’t use it to promote your services.
The EU has long passed its original purpose. Time for Brexit to kill it
A British withdrawal from the EU is the death knell we need delivered to the failed union, writes Aaron McKenna.
Dublin needs to invest more in itself, not the rest of the country
The reality is that Dublin accounts for 40% of the nations economy and so it attracts an outsized proportion of its investment, writes Aaron McKenna.
Only way to pay young public servants equally is to end generous pension regime
When addressing public sector pay, the big elephant in the room isn’t just the upfront costs of recruiting new entrants, Aaron McKenna argues.
'We need to weed out bogus disability claims for the people that really need it'
Aaron McKenna writes that people who truly need the disability payment are suffering at those that are scamming.
“Everything should be free” brigade rowing in on housing isn’t helping
We need to make it easier for developers to make a fair margin on affordable homes, writes Aaron McKenna.
Holding Luas strikes on such important days will cost other workers dearly
Unions need to realise it’s not 1913 anymore. There are laws and institutions to protect workers now, writes Aaron McKenna.
Abolishing water charges is a return to the policies that collapsed our economy
Troika observers reading our newspapers must be banging their heads against their desks and screaming at their monitors: “You’re. Screwing. It. Up. Again.”
Is Ireland going for more parish-pump politics?
This election has been characterised by a disenfranchised electorate, writes Aaron McKenna.
“Tax the rich” isn’t going to solve our problems after the election
‘Why would you move to Ireland, as a doctor or an executive looking to invest, if you could take a job elsewhere and earn more after tax?’, writes Aaron McKenna.
What's the best way to destroy violent gangs? Legalise the drugs
The main currency propelling these gangs is the supply and sale of illicit drugs. We can remove their power, writes Aaron McKenna.
Overweight people should pay more tax. Others can't pay for our folly
Operation Transformation is not fat-shaming. We can’t mollycoddle to spare people’s feelings, writes Aaron McKenna.
Lawyers grew fat on fees as the banking inquiry wasted our time and money
Political inquires are expensive spectacles set up by politicians trying to appear macho, Aaron McKenna writes.
'Erect a monument to the IRA’s foiled Marita Ann gun-smuggling operation? I don't think so'
Sinn Féin want a monument to gun-smuggling ship if Kerry council backs plan to add names of Fusiliers to monument.
'We shouldn't fear the 'racist' label when bringing criminals to justice'
It is wrong to ignore this issue, but equally wrong to punish every man, woman and child who enters Europe for the crimes of a few.
Enda Kenny is almost certainly going to be returned as Taoiseach
The question of the election of 2016 will be: “Who will Fine Gael rule with, and how long will it last?”
Most criminals reoffend. So, what's the answer? Locking them up and throwing away the key?
For repeat offenders of any crime, after a certain point there is perhaps very little we can do as a society to help them, but other countries are shaking things up, writes Aaron McKenna.
Make no mistake, we’re already sowing the seeds of the next recession
There is going to be another recession in the future, but how we prepare for it is up to our politicians, writes Aaron McKenna.
Why are our taxes paying for magic fairy stories to be told in schools?
State-funded religion classes are a waste of time and should be scrapped, Aaron McKenna writes.
Irish neutrality won’t be respected by the likes of ISIS, so why hold so dear to it?
Ireland will be neutral until the day, unlikely and all that it is, that we require someone else’s military assistance, writes Aaron McKenna.
Think Ireland's corporate tax is unfair? Wave goodbye to Apple and thousands of jobs if we change it
Anyone in our political sphere who proposes to jeopardise this arrangement from within is an economic saboteur, writes Aaron McKenna.
Aaron McKenna: To hell with the NIMBYs, injection centres are a great idea
Injection centres are not just services for addicts.They are services for every decent person who wants needles and users off the streets.
A basic income could get rid of the welfare state
The basic income does what it says on the tin. Every citizen over a certain age would receive an income from the state, writes Aaron McKenna.
You want to ban novels in schools that contain sex? Hello, 1960s Ireland
There has been controversy about the book Noughts & Crosses being on the Junior Cert curriculum. The description of passionate young love, later sex and (hang on to your seats) an abortion all speaks to things that young adults are likely to encounter in their lives, writes Aaron McKenna.
Low earners can’t have a free ride and pay no income taxes at all
It is right and proper that we all contribute to the running of the state. If you’re not that well off, and are earning very little, you still should contribute something.
Is it time we give up on Dublin's O'Connell Street?
Instead of wading into the sea to demand the oncoming tide go back, we might stop a minute and wonder why O’Connell Street is going through a seeming relentless process of regression, writes Aaron Mckenna.
Is Dublin really a kip?
Joe Duffy needs to get out more in Dublin if he thinks it’s a kip, writes Aaron McKenna.
'People with disabilities and the homeless aren't being taken care of because of your vote'
We know, deep down, that if it’s a choice between a 1.5% cut to USC or a 2% cut, most people will vote for the latter no matter what the additional cash could do for people in wheelchairs camped outside government buildings, writes Aaron McKenna.
If I'm in lingering pain, I should have the choice to end my life
We should put the topic of Euthanasia on the table for a national debate towards legalising it here in Ireland, writes Aaron McKenna.
'We cry about the Magdalene laundries but throw refugees into rat infested holiday camps'
‘Ireland loves nothing more than to toot its own horn as a saintly global peacemaker.’
Dublin won't save rural Ireland, it needs to grow up and be allowed to save itself
We need to decentralise control of the purse strings, rather than government departments, writes Aaron McKenna.
Unless you can magic up a few houses, welfare recipients will need to move away from Dublin
It’s an unpalatable solution politically, but the truth is workers and students need to be in a place while those in receipt of welfare cannot make the same claim.
The taxman is right to chase Airbnb hosts. Here’s why
Allowing those who rent their rooms via the sharing website to be tax exempt will simply put more professionals and students on the streets in times of severe rental crisis.
Ted Heath a paedophile? Not until he's proven guilty
The former British prime minister has a right to his presumed innocence.
New fines begin the overdue fightback against pesky cyclists
With the backing of powerful bureaucratic interests, cyclists have been getting a free ride where it comes to their responsibilities on the road.