Northern Irish Blogs.com

In a sickening act of right-wing piracy, the southern government has thrust a financial knife into the heart of working people by landing them with a budget that will make their lives misery.At a time when most ordinary people in the south are having to tighten their belts to make ends meet, the Fianna Fáil/ Green/ PD administration is more interested in tightening the noose around their necks.Among the jewels unfurled by Brian Lenihan and hurled at an unwitting public today were a massive 8c leap in tax on a litre of petrol, a half-percentage point jump in the already astronomically high VAT rate, and a 1% income levy on gross earnings up to €100,100.And to add insult to injury, quite literally, the already grossly inadequate public health system has been boosted in its inability to...

Bertie Ahern has handed in his notice to the President. And so comes to an end an era. Apart from Gerry Adams, who has effectively departed anyway, Bertie Ahern was the last of the Good Friday Agreement leaders to leave. He follows in the footsteps of Hume, Trimble and Blair.Of course, now begins a new era in Irish politics, north and south. Peter Robinson is to take over at the helm of the DUP and we already have Gordon Brown installed as British Prime Minister. The recent problems for the latter will undoubtedly raise questions about whether his two counterparts in Ireland will have similar problems following in the footsteps of such high-profile predecessors. It will be a while yet before we know, with no elections on either side of the border scheduled until next year. In the...