I cannot believe that this is not talked about more in the media. Especially after 5 years of the "Green Party" in government. Sure FFG deserves the blame in equal measure for years of neglect. But The Greens were supposed to fight for environmental issues and this is a very serious issue. I think it has to be up there with their biggest failings in government.

We've got some beautiful scenic tourist towns mentioned there like Newport, Roundstone, Kilkee, Howth etc and to have raw sewage flowing openly into the sea in 2025 is despicable. The current government needs to get their finger out on this issue and drastically speed up planning for these sewerage treatment plants. Some of these areas could be waiting till the late 2030s which is absolutely scandalous.

It's been so frustrating (but not surprising) seeing the gov sit on their hands as we potentially face the largest economic shock we've had in years. The only reaction I've seen is members of government saying they won't offer any wage subsidy, and op-eds from journalists (who are often really fiscally conservative) calling for a new round of austerity (using the usual phrases like 'moving away from state largesse', 'ending handouts', and 'tightening the belt')

Imo, we urgently need an ambitious Industrial Policy to create a new economic model focused on making our domestic economy more productive, more resilient, and more efficient so that we are less vulnerable to the next few years of global economic chaos. I wrote 6 key suggestions for how to do this and would love to know what ye think:

1) Invest massively in infrastructure: housing, transport, energy, water, electricity, waste.

2) Expand universal free public services: reduce costs by providing free healthcare, social care, childcare etc so people are able to spend more money in the productive economy and so that more people are available to work.

3) Strengthen worker rights & conditions: despite the mentality in Ireland/US/England, unions and strong worker protections often go hand in hand with higher productivity, with many of the most productive economies having strong unions and worker rights. The reality is, when someone likes their job, they tend to stay later and so companies maintain more embedded knowledge and productivity gains through years of upskilling. Also, when someone feels valued and respected, they are often motivated to work harder and do more.

4) Invest in Irish companies: we need to look at the model of Germany and others (including the EU with their European Investment Bank) and create public banks which invest in Irish startups and in the local economies across our island.

5) Lower input costs through public non-profits: businesses, workers and carers all have incredibly high costs when it comes to insurance, construction, banking, and energy. In all cases, the State should provide a non-profit option with the aim of reducing prices as much as possible, which competes with the private, commercial options. With energy, this would mean reforming the State-owned ESB from a commercial/for-profit into a non-profit. With insurance, it would mean expanding the non-profit, State-owned VHI to all other forms of insurance. With banking and construction, it would mean creating new non-profit public options.

6) Democratise and Decentralise: we live in one of the most centralised countries in the OECD and in the EU. We are also one of the few democracies which lack democratic local governments and regional governments of any kind. It's no secret that our State is highly inefficient and the lack of accountability which comes from decades of centralisation and a reluctance to empower local and regional democracy is a major reason for this. By making things more local and more democratic (like in other thriving countries), we can improve the efficiency of public money and improve public services by holding those in charge of them to account.

What do ye think?

Listen, I’m well aware of her descent down the rabbit hole, but I had no idea her Twitter account is nearly ENTIRELY devoted to culture war talking points (mainly trans athletes in women sports).

I’ve attached below a few screenshots but it’s hard to believe she was first elected as a SF TD in 2016. SF has a lot to answer for? Just want to know what people think of her generally ?

Well lads and lassies, it seems Sinn Fein stand at a crossroads. In their pursuit of the left vote, they lost some of their working class vote. A zero sum game in the end. By the time they moved back to the centre on immigration the damage was done. Many felt betrayed, while many others felt they were not doing their job in opposition. Of course it suited FFG for immigration to become contentious - it ate away at SF support. The recent referendum results sealed their fate.

I am of the opinion given the results of the recent polls Sinn Fein cannot progress further with Mary Lou at the helm. I like and admire the woman but her race has ended IMO. There is an element of toxicity and Irish people on the whole are notoriously risk averse and cynical meaning we generally don’t want to back what’s seen as a losing horse.

Which leads us onto the next question - who do we think would be best placed as leader?

One of the hard men of Sinn Fein, close to Belfast - Carthy, Cullinane, Doherty? Or maybe someone not as high profile - a ‘new slate’ so to speak. Kerrane? Formidable operator and not afraid to put manners on bauld pups like Daniel McConnell as we seen the other week.

One thing is for certain - if Sinn Fein don’t get this right the party will be dead in the water.

Of course, officially, Fianna Fáil can claim so, being members of the Renew European parliament group, but much of their support in recent GEs has come from older, rural, more socially conservative voters, which seems an odd fit with many of their continental counterparts. By contrast, Fine Gael under Varadkar and Coveney moved in a socially liberal, economically conservative direction, though there would still be a significant wing of the party seeking a return to more right-leaning principles, and it does appear Harris is gradually moving FG in that direction. Or is it simply the case that because of the exceptional circumstances in which our political system was formed, neither of them can be adequately assessed according to European norms?