Colm Keaveney - the kingmaker the next Labour leader might need?

Thu, Mar 28, 2013

One of the most engrossing political sagas of the current Dáil has been the venomous relationship between the Labour leadership and the party’s maverick Galway East TD Colm Keaveney.

The defection of five TDs in the first two years of Government and a nosedive in successive opinion polls has left Labour leader Eamon Gilmore in an unenviable position and, under normal circumstances, he could really use the support of the party chair.

City to aid the resurrection of Fianna Fáil?

Thu, Mar 07, 2013

In ‘The Russians Are Coming’, one of the greatest episodes of Only Fools And Horses, Del Boy constructs a nuclear fallout shelter atop Nelson Mandela Towers. Then, after ruminating on a scenario for what might happen post a nuclear war, he announces: “The end of the world is the break we’re looking for Rodney.”

City to aid the resurrection of Fianna Fáil?

Thu, Mar 07, 2013

In ‘The Russians Are Coming’, one of the greatest episodes of Only Fools And Horses, Del Boy constructs a nuclear fallout shelter atop Nelson Mandela Towers. Then, after ruminating on a scenario for what might happen post a nuclear war, he announces: “The end of the world is the break we’re looking for Rodney.”

How do you solve a problem like county representation?

Thu, Feb 28, 2013

In his foreword to the document Putting People First – An Action Programme for Effective Local Government, the Minister for the Environment, ‘Big’ Phil Hogan had this to say:

Deal or no deal?

Thu, Feb 21, 2013

It was another dramatic night in the Oireachtas earlier this month as the former Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide were put to bed after the best part of five years torturing the Irish people.

Galway East - just who will survive?

Thu, Feb 14, 2013

Of the four Galway East TDs elected in 2011, one will not return to 32nd Dáil after the 2016 General Election, not because of the wrath of the electorate, but because the constituency has undergone yet another of its regular metamorphoses.

Austerity must be from the top down

Thu, Nov 29, 2012

The coming Budget on December 5 is proposed to be the most severe ever imposed on the Irish people and the effect it will have on Government services Insider can only imagine.

Are the Irish economically illiterate?

Thu, Nov 08, 2012

As we approach the sixth in what seems to be a never-ending run of austerity budgets the public, despite some spin on the part of the Government and others, just does not sense we are anywhere near emerging from the economic abyss.

Consolidation – in the form of unemployment stabilising by not getting any worse, a stabilising of income levels, and some curb on the overall cost of living for instance – is as much as most people dare to hope for, at least for the foreseeable future.

Next time out it could be Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil coalition

Thu, Oct 11, 2012

One of our great national traits is the knowledge that we could all do the other fellow’s job so much better, be it politicians, teachers, referees, whatever, we all know better. Some of us keep this to ourselves but others have no difficulty letting the whole world know.

The Galway City Council chamber and the Dáil can be great places for this. Being an expert myself, that’s why Insider wanted to get in there. I knew I could solve problems and put things to right. No problem too big or small, solutions for all.

Post-Olympic glow begins to diminish in the corridors of power as pressure mounts

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

After the political holiday season – where events such as the London Olympics provided a welcome diversion from all things political and economic – the onset of autumn and the return of the Dáil has brought us all crashing back to reality.

The local elections of 2014 - they are sooner than you think

Thu, Jun 28, 2012

With around two years to go before the next local elections, political parties will already be focusing on their representative candidates and their prospects of success in what is likely to be a highly formative election.

The race for city’s directly-elected mayor

Thu, Jun 14, 2012

Minister Phil Hogan’s eyes were still adjusting to natural light last week after spending the duration of the recent referendum campaign locked in the basement of Government Buildings.

A Mayor to be proud of

Thu, May 31, 2012

Before this year Insider did not know Mayor Hildegarde Naughton very well, but after her year in office, he is delighted to be able to reflect on a job well done by a relative political novice.

Government - not quite the bed of roses that Labour might have expected

Thu, Apr 12, 2012

Insider rarely tires of the vicissitudes of Galway politics. The city and county’s petty intrigues, feverish whisperings, internecine squabbles, and comical characters are usually enough to keep even the most amateur political observer entertained.

Nolan and Keaveney - this county ain’t big enough for the both of us

Thu, Mar 08, 2012

Galway is set to become the battleground for an internecine struggle over who will be elected chair of the Labour Party this month as both the party’s Galway TDs - Derek Nolan (Galway West) and Colm Keaveney (Galway East) are understood to be touting for support among their parliamentary colleagues.

Labour needs to watch its left flank

Thu, Mar 01, 2012

The recent enlistment of Johnny Walsh, who served as an Independent councillor on Ballinasloe Town Council for the past 13 years, into The Labour Party, might seem like a ‘small fry’ incident in local parish politics, but it is in fact, far from that.

We need a referendum on the austerity treaty

Thu, Feb 09, 2012

“I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians,” the former French president Charles De Gaulle once said. Indeed he would have been within his rights to substitute the word ‘dangerous’ for ‘serious’.

‘Optical’ Friday sittings not availed of by Galway West TDs

Thu, Feb 09, 2012

The 31st Dáil may now sit for longer than previous Dáils, but that does not mean it is getting any more work done, a point which Galway West TDs seem to realise.

Are ULA the real Left?

Thu, Feb 02, 2012

“Get a mandate!” barked Labour party Rottweiler, Councillor Billy Cameron. This verbal was directed at Dette McLoughlin, the chair of Galway’s United Left Alliance. However as quick as you could say travel expenses, McLoughlin replied: “You have no mandate to implement a household tax, nor to rob the poor to help the rich. If you had any principles you would resign from the Labour Party!”

Government cannot afford to be seen to favour the elite

Thu, Jan 19, 2012

This time last year Ireland was convulsed – and horrified – by some of the most chaotic political scenes in living memory as the Cowen government disintegrated.

After Christmas everyone knew a general election would be held once the provisions announced in the Budget were given legislative effect. So bizarre were the scenes however – and so insatiable was the desire for that election – that the provisions of the Budget itself were largely ignored!

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