Noel Whelan: Remember real people when you vote in marriage referendum‘They and their families have a real and very human need to be recognised as equal’Fri May 15 2015 - 05:00
Noel Whelan: Fine prospects for Fine Gael in the byelection‘Byelections always become effectively bi-polar events. The pro- and anti-government electors quickly rally behind the stronger-looking candidate on each side’Fri May 08 2015 - 00:04
Noel Whelan: What’s the difference between civil partnership and marriage?2015: ‘Constitution protects rights of married people, but not rights of people in civil partnerships’Fri May 01 2015 - 05:00
Noel Whelan: No side posters may prove counterproductive'Many children are already being born with the assistance of surrogacy'Fri Apr 24 2015 - 05:02
Noel Whelan: Enda Kenny wants Seanad reform – but not yetTaoiseach’s conversion is more Augustinian than PaulineFri Apr 17 2015 - 05:00
Noel Whelan: Evictions will be new trigger for protest and political uneaseMany of the repossession proceedings are at the judgment stageFri Apr 10 2015 - 05:00
Noel Whelan: What progress has Fianna Fáil made on 12-point recovery plan?It’s too late for Fianna Fáil to recover before the next electionFri Apr 03 2015 - 05:00
Noel Whelan: It’s the economy, stupid: why FG is on the up‘Fianna Fáil seems stuck where it was at the 2011 election at about 17 per cent’Fri Mar 27 2015 - 05:00
Weary of the green: peace process fatigue is setting in on both sides of AtlanticNoel Whelan: Sinn Féin is forced to practise grown-up politics where tough decisions must be made scarce resourcesFri Mar 20 2015 - 05:00
Banking inquiry highlights need for Dáil reformProf David Farrell set out criteria for assessing whether a parliamentary democracy is or can be effectiveFri Mar 13 2015 - 13:12
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil coalition is the most likely outcome of the next electionFine Gael strategy is to warn of instability and step up attacks on Fianna Fáil and Sinn FéinFri Mar 06 2015 - 05:00
The jailing of water protesters: intimidation at the heart of the matter‘When suggestions first arose that some water protesters were intimidating water-meter installers it was dismissed as establishment spin’Fri Feb 27 2015 - 11:54
Marriage equality referendum campaign: it’s time to get personalWe need more passionate contributions, like those of Pat Carey and Seán FlemingFri Feb 20 2015 - 11:50
Centre-right governments have no interest in seeing this new left-wing Greek government succeed‘The response of EU governments to new Greek government has as much to do with politics as economics’Fri Feb 13 2015 - 12:01
Noel Whelan: Right time to allow secret ballot for Ceann ComhairleThis Government should change Dáil rules as part of political reform planFri Feb 06 2015 - 12:01
Abusive verbal attacks on President Higgins mark a new low in political discourse‘Play ball, rather than the man’ rule would be a good starting point for greater civilityFri Jan 30 2015 - 12:00
Noel Whelan: Leo Varadkar can move on now‘People ask whether Varadkar will lead Fine Gael and I offer the view that he probably will’Fri Jan 23 2015 - 12:33
State funding for political parties acts as a bar against new partiesPolitical scientists estimate sitting TDs and Senators enjoyed significant electoral advantage even before State fundingFri Jan 09 2015 - 12:20
Why was a court ruling required to decide fate of pregnant woman on life support?‘All the medical evidence available to the High Court at its special hearing on Christmas Eve could or should have been available to the HSE in the middle of December’Fri Jan 02 2015 - 12:01
2014: The Year of Recovery, or the Year of the Water Uprising?‘We may look back at 2014 as the year when, after initial tensions, Ireland shifted gently from civil war politics to a more typically left-right divide’Fri Dec 19 2014 - 00:02
Same-sex marriage: why the proposal may not be accepted by voters‘Most of those who will vote will only engage at or near the end of the campaign’Fri Dec 12 2014 - 12:01
Fine Gael know they are in real troubleIrish Times poll confirms Fine Gael’s best chance of staying in government after the next election is with Fianna FáilFri Dec 05 2014 - 07:27
Is the time right for a new political party?‘It would take a lot of political charisma and an impressive set of policies, not to mention lots of funding’Fri Nov 28 2014 - 15:01
Stormy times ahead as public political mood could become more volatileOpinion: ‘Even if Alan Kelly’s package does defuse the controversy about water it will not and cannot assuage the wider mood of anger and protest’Fri Nov 21 2014 - 12:01
Brian Farrell had a healthy scepticism of politicians but was never cynical about politicsOpinion: ‘He had a deep sense of the democratic authority held by the people and assumed the role of being their voice in studio’Fri Nov 14 2014 - 14:16
How the Economic Management Council undermines Cabinet and GovernmentOpinion: ‘The EMC has enhanced the role of unelected officials and advisers at the expense of those elected to govern’Fri Nov 07 2014 - 12:01
Irish Water’s PPS demand was pushed through after two-minute debate at Dáil subcommitteeOpinion: Senator Feargal Quinn aims to reverse Irish Water’s new powerFri Oct 31 2014 - 12:01
Irish Water: where it all went wrongOpinion: Deputies warned Government of ‘deeply flawed’ water BillFri Oct 24 2014 - 13:21
Following a litany of failures, has Fianna Fáil lost its way?Opinion: ‘In the newly arrived era of recovery politics Fianna Fáil is finding it difficult to decide which way to turn’Fri Oct 17 2014 - 12:01
Budget 2015: Government ill-prepared for switch from recession politics to recovery politicsOpinion: ‘The Government is about to launch its first post bailout budget without any detailed overall economic road map’Fri Oct 10 2014 - 13:14
Paddy is getting impatient waiting for Enda to be frankOpinion: Taoiseach’s avoidance of media debate on McNulty affair is part of a patternFri Oct 03 2014 - 12:01
Debacle over McNulty Imma appointment exposes sorry tale of failure to reform politicsOpinion: ‘This walks, talks and looks like a stroke. It was stroke. Fine Gael should have the decency to stop digging’Fri Sept 26 2014 - 00:01
North still ‘caught in the grip of sectarianism’O’Loan warns of peace processes unravellingFri Sept 19 2014 - 12:03
Cabinet plays catch-up over budget strategyOpinion: Is it any wonder Leo Varadkar spoke out on health spending and the budget?Fri Sept 12 2014 - 12:01
No time for show-time politics in lead-up to budgetOpinion: Ministers’ signals of tax cuts have fuelled voter expectationsFri Sept 05 2014 - 12:01
Abortion amendment didn’t happen by accident‘The ground has shifted in the last 12 years but not in the direction the pro-life side would like or to the extent the pro-choice side seek to suggest’Fri Aug 29 2014 - 06:52
Commentary since death of Albert Reynolds has corrected the neglect of his achievementsOpinion: Former taoiseach not alone in collapsing coalition relationshipSat Aug 23 2014 - 00:01
The questions Enda Kenny must answer on justice and policing controversiesOpinion: If Shatter’s proceedings come to trial they could prove the most politically dramatic court hearings since 1970Sun Aug 03 2014 - 12:01
A minister with a refreshing frankness – his strength and Achilles heelApart from frankness, Varadkar has other assets. He is young, competent and telegenicSat Jul 26 2014 - 01:00
Hard to discern any coherent rationale to Kenny’s choicesOpinion: Seeds may have been sown for a breakdown in relationship with TDsSun Jul 20 2014 - 01:00
Deepening housing shortage shows the crisis has been wastedOpinion: Unemployment and the lack of affordable accommodation are fuelling political instabilitySat Jul 12 2014 - 01:00
Fine Gael reshuffle signals make or break time for KennyOpinion: Giving the European Commissionership to Hogan in line with expectations gives Kenny more space to rebrand his GovernmentSat Jul 05 2014 - 00:01
Invincibility and disengagement shaped Crowley’s decision to switch groupingOpinion: Fianna Fáil MEP is most successful Irish election candidate everSat Jun 28 2014 - 13:22
Confrontational interviews: do they work?Opinion: Conflict makes for more dramatic television than the calm exchange of ideasSat Jun 21 2014 - 00:01
Sinn Féin is destined for a dramatic Dáil advance when the next election comesOpinion: Party did not get immediate electoral bounce out of the economic downturnSat Jun 14 2014 - 00:01
Testing times ahead for the TaoiseachOpinion: Kenny’s Coalition management skills now look ropeySun Jun 08 2014 - 12:01
Who are all the newly elected Independents?Opinion: Many of the Independent councillors were endorsed by their local Independent TDSat May 31 2014 - 01:01
Breakdown of public funding of parties offers incomplete pictureOpinion: Sipo renewed its call for legislative change to require parties to publish full accountsSat May 24 2014 - 01:01
Government spin machine brings out the artilleryOpinion: Trumpeting future spending is seen as the best defence against mood of angerSat May 17 2014 - 00:01
