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Gerard Howlin

Gerard Howlin

Irish Examiner

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The general election campaign was a raucous wake for an era that was already over

28.03.2025 7

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Ireland is not anti-Semitic but it’s not a good time to be Jewish in this country

14.03.2025 20

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Micheál Martin has real power at last. The big question is what he’ll do with it

14.02.2025 30

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

A good foreign policy is one that no one notices. Unfortunately that’s not Simon Harris’s style

31.01.2025 10

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Programme for government is notable not just for a lack of ideology, but a lack of passion

17.01.2025 10

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Divorce between managing the economy and managing public spending is harming the country

A new government will take office within weeks as our State’s spending continues to outstretch levels that are safe. In parallel, its...

03.01.2025 4

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Verona Murphy getting the Ceann Comhairle job was a sign of Michael Lowry’s political savvy

Verona Murphy is now the face of political change. The derision from the politically pious on what passes for an Irish left only draws attention to...

20.12.2024 3

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

It’s a measure of the importance of Independents that a lot hinges on Verona Murphy’s next move

The general election distilled significant power into the hands of a few Independent TDs. There are about seven at the time of writing likely to...

06.12.2024 3

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

The false election promises being made to Ireland’s under-40s

Backloading liability on to people under 40 is the theme of this election. Unhoused, under-pensioned, and liable for more dependents as...

22.11.2024 20

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

With 2024 set to be the hottest year ever, why have plans for climate spending been put on hold?

With impeccable timing, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil timed out the Green Party last Monday night. The party leaders would not agree to allow Minister...

08.11.2024 2

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Sinn Féin is on the back foot but that does not mean the Government parties are over the line

Foregone conclusions about the general election are premature. Sinn Féin may be in the doghouse politically, but the election will end up being...

25.10.2024 6

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Simon Harris is making Micheál Martin look like the status quo. This is a problem for Fianna Fáil

Simon Harris is not running for tánaiste. That should not be news, but it hasn’t sunk in with Fianna Fáil. Success would be Fianna Fáil and Fine...

11.10.2024 10

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Whatever happens in the election the outcome will be the same: a coalition of imprudence

The next election offers little choice between the three larger parties and several smaller ones. Sinn Féin’s alternative budget is distinctive,...

27.09.2024 5

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Ireland is doing the equivalent of using its credit card to pay for groceries

The hubris of the noughties is back with a bang. We have lost the run of ourselves and forgotten what a paltry sum the €13 billion coming from...

13.09.2024 7

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Taoiseach plans all-powerful Department of Infrastructure. What could go wrong?

The question now is whether we should establish a new Department of Infrastructure. The Taoiseach says it will be a Fine Gael manifesto pledge. It...

30.08.2024 20

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Big problems cannot be magicked away by the Taoiseach’s emphatic statements

Simon Harris is the first populist leader of Fine Gael, and the Taoiseach who has ended analogue politics. As a politician he has an astonishing...

16.08.2024 2

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

The Sinn Féin surge is over and its fightback has hardly begun

If the Government is planning a general election in autumn, it is now in its last 100 days. We’ve been here before. Enda Kenny was ready to go to...

02.08.2024 3

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin

Inheritance tax is a modest payback for a massive benefit

Sewing pockets into shrouds is one part of the campaign to cut inheritance tax. Another is to establish squatter’s rights over the promise of tax...

19.07.2024 4

The Irish Times

Gerard Howlin