
‘New energy' was a bust – our Government's headless-chickening mirrors a world on fire & their goose is already cooked
4
THE Duracell Bunny is about to keel over. His batteries are on the blink.
Advertisement
The 'New Energy' promised by former Taoiseach, the young pup
4
Now, I'm not blaming Simon and the rest of the Dail ditherers for all of the world's catastrophes
Credit: � 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved
Far from hitting the ground running, the new
Away from our shores,
Now, I'm not blaming Simon and the rest of the Dail ditherers for any of those catastrophes.
Advertisement
That would be a bit mad and I'm not quite Looney Tunes yet. Give it time.
The impending end of civilisation should keep you awake at night.
If you can somehow manage to sleep soundly despite all the horror, drop me a line and reveal your secret.
I'd love to know how your nerves aren't frayed, how you're not one step from the ward for the very, very nervous.
Advertisement
I wish they'd all just exit stage left with their wars and their egos. Or self-combust.
Didn't we endure enough suffering during three interminable years of the
Simon Harris 'does not expect' poll on Irish unity in this decade
So, we certainly don't need the added torment of a
But it's what we have. So suck it up as best you can.
Throwing your
Advertisement
You may also want to douse your mobile phone in a flammable liquid and set it ablaze (that thing you look at for hours from one end of the day to the other contains all the poison that has turned many of us into angry, intolerant idiots).
Burn it, smash it, dump it in a toilet, whatever, get rid of it.
RARE HAPPINESS
Nowadays, happiness only exists in the warm embrace of those closest to you, perhaps, or in a few silent moments you steal for yourself, or in the joy of sport, the hum of nature at peace with itself.
Hope though is a hard commodity to find. Like ste behind a rocking horse, as a dear old friend used to say in moments of supreme clarity.
There's precious little hope to be found away from these shores, except maybe on a desert island.
Advertisement
Even there, the hand of Trump hovers like a dark shadow, a Hooded Claw.
At home too, hope is like a dried-up well, or a rain-drenched
MORE DOOM AND GLOOM
Hope is a hole in your shoe, especially if you're young.
Those poor sods must be tearing their hair out at the gomdaw antics of those handed the power to fix their broken lives.
A failed generation under the omnipresent
Advertisement
And what do we get from the banjaxed Duracell Bunny Harris?
Not hope, no, just more doom and gloom. It's all he has to offer.
What has he and his Government done in the last six months apart from talk and talk and talk.
They're 'engaging key stakeholders' now and have set up an 'accelerating infrastructure taskforce' to deliver deliverables.
Plenty of blah, blah, blah and damn all do, do, do.
Advertisement
EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES
They had another talking shop on Monday, the National
'There are dark clouds on the horizon,' said Harris, his ever-greying face mirroring the sombre mood that has descended.
Talk about stating the bleedin' obvious, though. Sherlock and that thing we do twice a day (if we're lucky) come to mind.
The lads and lassies in Leinster House know their goose is already cooked and they're barely seven months into their Government term.
Success or failure depends entirely on Trump now.
Advertisement
If tariffs arrive, then the game is up and the Government knows it.
The days of having our coffers stuffed with many billions in US multinational cash is about to abruptly end.
IRISH EXPORTS SOARED
In the first three months of this year,
Most of that was pharma giants getting their product to the States before Trump's tariffs kick in. Clever sods.
We may have bumper receipts now from US multinationals, but they will fall off a cliff when Trump's tariff axe swings.
Advertisement
If only successive governments HADN'T put all the eggs in the one multinational basket. But they did.
The success of the
The Emperor has no clothes, no wonder the Duracell Bunny has lost his lustre.
PUTIN'S LIES ON WAR CRIMES
RUSSIA repeatedly claims it isn't targeting civilians in Ukraine.
It's a nauseating lie, of course, but Putin and his army of psychopaths revel in deception and double-speak.
Since Ukraine wiped out much of Russia's fleet of bombers in a daring attack last month, Putin has unleashed record-breaking volleys of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, indiscriminately bombing apartment blocks, shopping centres and schools.
One such blatant attack by an Iranian drone was captured live on Ukrainian TV as it slammed into the side of a high-rise block of flats.
It was a shuddering sight.
Anyone inside would have died on impact. Putin doesn't care.
His goal is to drag the war out as long as he can and exhaust the civilian population with nightly terror raids, like the one pictured here.
Trump, who has said he 'likes' Putin, obviously hasn't the balls to stand up to the Russian tyrant, so he keeps on killing with abandon.
LISTEN TO MACRON, FELLAS
HE may have married his teacher, a woman 22 years his senior, but when French President
As US President Donald Trump prepared to join
Advertisement
4
Emmanuel Macron denounced the idea of using force in regime change in Tehran
Credit: AFP
He immediately denounced the idea of using force to achieve regime change in Tehran, reminding Trump and Israel's
'Does anyone think that what was done in
For those with short memories, the invasion of
It also fuelled the rise of Isis across the
Advertisement
The toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya also led to a brutal civil war in the north African country, one that divided the country in two and still bubbles along to this day.
While conceding the Israeli point that it has a right to defend itself and that Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism around the world – Hezbollah and
He said: 'I think the biggest mistake today is to use military means to bring about regime change in Iran because that would mean chaos.'
Trump and Netanyahu aren't listening though.
Netanyahu bluntly said that killing Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's Supreme leader, 'is not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict'.
Trump added: 'We know exactly where he is. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least for now.'
Advertisement
Khamenei appeared on TV from his bunker, vowing no surrender.
Long weeks lie ahead of us.
KIRBY A REAL JOY
DUNNO if you're into cycling – the sport, not the dangerous exercise of getting from A to B on Irish roads – but I was delighted to hear the chuckling tones of cycling commentating legend Carlton Kirby on TNT Sports this week as he took viewers on a linguistic waltz during the Tour of Switzerland.
Carlton is a fellow Sheffield Wednesday sufferer, so he's a kindred spirit. I could listen to him for days on end.
Cadence, wit and repartee are his middle names.
Among the gems he revealed about Switzerland is the fact each town, village or hamlet employs a caretaker whose job is to keep the public realm in tip-top shape.
Grass verges are never overgrown, graffiti never up for long and fag butts as alien as ketchup on a fondue.
FARCICAL CLUB CUP
CLUB World Cup anyone? Nah, you're alright.
4
Bayern Munich beat a bunch of amateurs from Auckland 10-0
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Advertisement
An online platform called DAZN is the only place you can watch it, if you are bothered to jump through hoops backwards trying to sign up to their free stream.
DAZN reportedly paid $1BILLION for the privilege of being the exclusive broadcasters.
The competition, which kicked off last weekend, soon descended into farce after
Who wants to watch that? Not even the most die-hard sports fans, and I count myself among their number, would get excited by a Club World Cup.
Advertisement
Reports from
The Club World Cup will limp to a conclusion over the next few weeks out of the spotlight.
Feck all people will tune in.
And Fifa will quietly drop it when they realise it's a dead duck.
HIQA REPORTS ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE
HIQA must have read my column last week, because this week they confirmed they have passed reports on alleged abuses at two Emeis Ireland-run nursing homes in Dublin and Portlaoise to Gardai.
Nothing less will do.
Hiqa also reported some 198 allegations of abuse at one of them, yet they went on to say that it 'didn't necessarily mean a failure at compliance'.
Talk about utter hogwash. Hiqa is as useful as a monkey without a tail.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Extra.ie
43 minutes ago
- Extra.ie
LISTEN: Christy Moore releases new track for Michael D. Higgins
Christy Moore has released 'Music to Our Ears', a spoken word tribute to President Michael D. Higgins. The track, written by poet Johnny Broderick and produced by Gavin Murphy, celebrates President Higgins' life and legacy as he enters the last months of his second and final term in office. The tribute will also feature on the extended edition of Moore's No.1 album A Terrible Beauty , set for release later this year. Speaking on the project, Christy said: 'I think it is a beautiful tribute to our esteemed President and His Family. I think Johnny B's words express what many of us feel about Michael D. and, Our First Lady, Sabina.' The tribute is the latest show of respect and admiration between Christy Moore and President Higgins. In a heartfelt message celebrating Moore's 80th birthday earlier this year, President Higgins praised the singer's decades of service to music and culture. 'Through your music, you have lent voice to those often unheard, bringing to the public discourse the concerns, hopes, and struggles of ordinary people with extraordinary empathy and dignity,' he said. He also described Moore's voice as 'one of the most distinctive and enduring in Irish life,' commending his 'profound sense of justice' and his grounding in 'the values of community, equality and solidarity.' Reflecting on a visit to Aras an Uachtarain, Moore once wrote: 'Encounters with Michael D. over many decades have always been memorable. Meeting him again as the elected President of Ireland was a particular pleasure. There was a feeling of having a true 'man of the people' in Aras an Uachtarain.' President Michael D. Higgins, a former Hot Press columnist from 1983 to 1993, will step down from his role later this year after serving the maximum of 14 years in office. You can check out the lyric video for 'Music To Our Ears' below:


RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Supplementary register recommended for Seanad elections
A review by An Coimisiún Toghcháin of the conduct of the Seanad elections last January has made a number of recommendations to improve the electoral process for the upper house. Chief among those is a recommendation to introduce a supplementary register ahead of the next election. Unlike Dáil elections, current law does not allow for a supplementary Seanad register, meaning there is one fixed deadline that people must be registered by or risk missing out on their Seanad vote. The review also recommends improved checks on the register of electors to ensure accuracy. The Comisiún said issues with incorrect addresses and deceased electors remaining on the register likely contribute to perceived low turnouts. Another recommendation is for the inclusion of a standardised stamp or watermark on all ballot papers before they are issued and amending legislation to allow individuals decline a nomination or withdraw their own nomination. It also recommends all announcements in count centres are delivered in English, Irish and Irish Sign language and a review of procedure regarding the delivery of Seanad ballot papers by registered post. The Seanad with its 60 members has a unique electoral system. Six senators are elected by the Higher Education constituency and 43 through vocational panels, with only TDs, outgoing Senators and local councillors entitled to vote. The remaining 11 are nominated by the taoiseach of the day. The upper house has constitutionally defined roles in the consideration and passing of legislation and initiating bills.


Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
The US Banks that fueled Ireland's finance rebound face tariff angst
When the US launched sweeping tariffs against trade partners in April, BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink found himself in Ireland, one of the countries with most to lose if US multinationals were forced to curtail their operations overseas. Fink, whose company was in the running for a major contract with the Irish government at the time, toed a careful line, claiming to 'understand the logic' of Donald Trump's move while not agreeing with it, and insisting there 'does not need to be a true trade war.' Almost three months on, the Wall Street giants that created thousands of Dublin jobs since Brexit are in a similarly awkward position. They're trying to balance the challenges created by their own government with the opportunities in a country that depends on US multinationals for more than 10% of its jobs and a big chunk of tax receipts. For now, the banks are hopeful their multinational clients will adapt to the trade uncertainty. 'It's not obvious to me that that falls off a cliff' under the threat of tariffs, says Marc Hussey, the Irish-born JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive who returned home to run the bank's 1,500-strong Dublin business in 2022. Larry Fink Assuming multinationals 'shrink overnight' would be an 'extreme view,' Hussey added, and he is 'not sensing that from any of our clients.' He continues to see growth in the range of businesses he oversees including a global funds administration center, a workplace solutions business that runs employment share programs across the world and the EMEA hub for Chase payments technology. Ireland remains popular in JPMorgan's head office too — CEO Jamie Dimon will travel to Dublin next month to speak at an event, his fourth such trip in six years. Almost a decade on from the UK's Brexit vote that cut off London's banks from a several markets inside the European Union, Ireland has become a big draw for foreign lenders. They now employ close to 15,000 people, according to a report from the Federation of International Banks in Ireland last month, with firms including JPMorgan, Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. leading the way to set up major EU businesses in the country. That choice puts them at the eye of the tariffs storm in a market that has long been heavily exposed to US multinationals, prompting recent warnings about the outlook for the economy and the risk to financial stability. As part of the EU, Ireland's fate is tied to negotiations with Trump ahead of a July 9 deadline, after which nearly all of the bloc's imports to the US will be hit with a 50% levy. Across the River Liffey from JPMorgan's offices, Citi's 2,900 staff are working across an innovation hub, the group's EU bank headquarters and an international corporate banking businesses. Citi CEO Jane Fraser was in town a few weeks ago to mark the bank's 60th anniversary in the nation, and hailed Ireland as 'a hub for innovation, a magnet for multinationals and a vital part of the world's economic landscape.' The bank's new Dublin office, to be opened next year with space for an extra 400 staff, is 'a symbol of our long-term investment in Ireland and in Europe,' she added in a LinkedIn post. Hussey is hoping the move increases the chances of a long-promised footbridge that would link JPMorgan on Dublin's southside to the northside of the Liffey, where Citi's new office will join the Central Bank of Ireland's headquarters. Davinia Conlan, Citi's Ireland head and chair of industry group FIBI, argues that there is 'a lot to be positive about from an Ireland domestic economy perspective' and she is hopeful that Citi will ultimately fill its 3,300 capacity in the new site, though she's not putting any time line on that. 'We're still expecting the economy to, to grow albeit at a slower pace than we would've seen previously,' she said. Wish List Ireland also offers companies the benefit of 'ease of access' to government, Conlan said. The Department of Finance will soon launch an industry consultation on its next international financial services strategy, a successor to the Ireland for Finance strategy launched in 2020 which covers banks, insurers, funds and other firms that combined employ around 60,000. Regulatory simplification will be high on the industry's wish list, Conlan and her peers say, with firms set to call on Ireland to remove some 'gold-plating' of EU rules and to push the bloc to be more competitive around regulation. The international banks' federation, FIBI, is preparing a proposal on simplification which will offer examples of areas where regulation can be 'more efficient,' Conlan said, declining to offer goldplating examples before that. Investments in infrastructure and housing, including a long promised airport metro, will also be on the list. Fernando Vicario, who heads Bank of America's Dublin-based EU head office, is hopeful that imminent reform of the EU's securitization market will offer a further boost for his 1,300-strong team, which has been retaining its earnings to support future growth. 'Ireland can be a place where these securitization deals can be packaged out of Ireland into the rest of Europe,' he said, adding that the country already commands a big presence in this market. Vicario does not expect the Irish government to pivot to protectionist sentiment, which has cropped up in some countries in response to Trump's trade approach. 'I learned in Boston that America is Irish,' says Vicario. 'In business, people stick to their positions and do business. And we do business with Irish headquartered companies and with Irish branches and subsidiaries of US companies, all day long. I have quite frankly no problem whatsoever with our passport referring to our US origin.' Ireland has shown it has no problems with US companies either: following Fink's careful diplomacy, BlackRock was last month named a preferred bidder to help manage the country's multibillion-euro pension program. Bloomberg