Today is an exciting day for me. I am getting the keys for our new constituency office. It is located across from Phibsborough Shopping Centre and was formerly an estate agents (Property Team). It is located beside that well known landmark, Woodstock cafe!
Opening of Constituency Office
Digital Democracy
I have been invited to speak at a conference entitled ‘Digital Democracy,Governance 2.0’ at Google’s European HQ in Dublin. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do this. The conference will be on in April and will include speakers from the worlds of politics, business and academia. I plan to speak on how mass […]
Move over deflation
The St Patricks weekend and the easing of political activity has allowed me to catch up on some matters of interest. I have written elsewhere about how stimulating global demand is the essential ingredient of getting out of this recession. I came across an excellent article in the Financial Times, available here that sums up […]
The future of Public Private Partnerships
We are all aware of the difficulties in relation to PPPs on major Dublin housing projects. However there is more to come. The British Treasury has announced the delay of some major PPPs (or to use their lingo Private Finance Initiatives). I questioned the Department of Finance on this and have received the following answer. […]
The role of the state
I think that the new dividing line in politics will be the role of the state. We need to completely rethink this and the consequences for levels of taxation, individual responsibilty and how public money is spent. My view is that the role of the Irish state should be focused on protecting and enabling our […]
Gaelscoil Bharra Update
Parents and pupils continue to do a great job supporting and leading this great school. The issue of the lease on the land has now been completely clarified by Finbar’s GAA Club. I have now written to the the Minister for Education Bat O’Keefe emphasising the need for his Department to confirm that they accept […]
Making the Seanad Work
There is a lot of slagging of the Seanad at the moment. Small example of how it works well happened today.
Making more money for global demand
I have written on this site about the efforts that many are making to drive global demand (quantitative easing etc.). We are losing sight of the huge amounts of money involved in these issues. So, what does a trillion dollars look like? Have a look at this:
The need for reform
I was in discussion with Leinster House staff yesterday about organising a tour of constituents around the Dail and Seanad. These things are always booked far in advance so I did not even bother trying to get a date in March. I started in April and was told not to bother with the mid 2 […]
Royal Canal Park Residents Association
Just back from attended a residents association meeting in Royal Canal Park, Dublin 15. It was a very well organised meeting and a pleasure to attend. There was some concern and, indeed, anger about many of the issues facing this community.