She also pointed to Ireland\u2019s history of colonisation, famine and the peaceful resolution of conflict in the North, which she said \u2018oblige us to speak plainly\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The President said Ireland is \u2018uniquely positioned\u2019 to do that, pointing to the State\u2019s peacekeeping history and commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation, which she said stand as \u2018testament to the disproportionate influence a small, neutral state can wield when it acts with integrity and purpose\u2019.<\/p>\n
Really? Does the President really think that when Ireland speaks the whole world listens, believing that we have some \u2018unique\u2019 authority and standing that is not found elsewhere?<\/p>\n
Nobody would dispute the validity of her message in her first St Patrick\u2019s Day message since taking office that \u2018the normalisation of war can never be accepted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, more than ever, we must renew our commitment to peace and diplomacy in line with the principles of international law as set out in the United Nations Charter\u2019.<\/p>\n
Leaving aside the \u2018now more than ever\u2019 clich\u00e9 that has become so overused in recent times<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 since the Second World War there have been many crises of the kind we are seeing now \u2013 we should be humble enough to realise that many other countries, both aligned and non-aligned to military groups, have also put in very significant shifts in UN peace-keeping.\u00a0<\/p>\n We are no more virtuous than them.<\/p>\n How many peace agreements have been brokered by Ireland?\u00a0<\/p>\n How many people actually turn to us for advice or help?\u00a0<\/p>\n How many others have a perception of us that mirrors our self-regard?<\/p>\n The President, seen here with husband Brian, is right to be concerned, to voice concerns on our behalf, but might be more thoughtful in her assessment of our role in sorting the world out<\/p>\n Many other countries have experienced colonisation and famine \u2013 and far more recently than we have.<\/p>\n There are other countries that realise that armament is a necessity for defence and that to be without defensive weapons in the face of threats from aggressors \u2013 of whom there are many \u2013 is often hopelessly na\u00efve.<\/p>\n The idea that Russia and Israel, for example, can be talked down from their aggression is almost nonsensical\u2026 and now, unfortunately, the US has returned to that list of rogue international actors.<\/p>\n The President is right to be concerned, and to voice concerns on our behalf, but might be more thoughtful in her assessment of our role in sorting the world out.<\/p>\n Best to keep Trump \u00a0in Doonbeg during his Irish visit<\/p>\n If, as is likely, Donald Trump comes to Ireland in September it will likely be to Dublin as well as Doonbeg, even if the Government would quietly prefer it if he stuck to the Clare venue<\/a>.<\/p>\n Keeping him at the golf would be easier from a security and political point of view.<\/p>\n Holding protesters at more than arm\u2019s length would be made easier by the remote location of the golf course.<\/p>\n Politically he wouldn\u2019t quite be out of sight and out of mind, but there would be fewer opportunities for embarrassment to the host country, especially if it could be portrayed as a private visit.<\/p>\n However, there are concerns in Government circles that Trump might want a detour to Dublin as part of any visit, and there is a reason for this.<\/p>\n Donald Trump in Doonbeg… There are concerns in Government circles that Trump might want a detour to Dublin as part of any visit he might make later this year for the Irish Open golf<\/p>\n The US government has bought a significant plot of land in Dublin as the location for its new embassy in the city, over four acres of prime real estate.<\/p>\n Congress was informed by the State department of a $171million purchase and of a plan to spend another $510million on design, construction and fit-out.<\/p>\n The old landmark Jury\u2019s Hotel in Dublin 4 was demolished over a year ago and, rather than leaving a large hole in the ground, the site has been resurfaced with tarmac (although no parking is allowed behind the fences that have been erected there, which is something of a waste).<\/p>\n There is speculation in Government circles that Trump, as a keen property developer, might be interested in overseeing a ceremony breaking ground for the new embassy.<\/p>\n His good mate and golfing buddy, Ambassador Ed Walsh, might see it as a way to entertain his sponsor. He could tell him stories about what Se\u00e1n Dunne wanted to do on the extended site two decades ago, to create a mini-Manhattan. Trump would surely enjoy that. He might even want the new embassy to be named after him.<\/p>\n A ceremony would be a major security problem, however, especially as residents in the highly expensive apartments nearby overlooking the empty site might be required to move out.<\/p>\n It would also be a choke point at which protesters might congregate, but at least it would give the garda\u00ed practice for the Israeli soccer international that is due to take place at the nearby Aviva stadium in early October (which, as an aside, must be becoming more unlikely to take place).<\/p>\n The idea of bringing the US president to Ballsbridge might make some sense, to the Americans at least, but if Trump were in Dublin there would be pressure to have him hosted at Government Buildings too, elevating the status of the visit. It would be rude not to invite him if he was in town.<\/p>\n In that case there would be pressure to go the whole hog and allow him to address the Houses of the Oireachtas, an honour afforded previously to presidents John F Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden (but not to Barack Obama who instead, in 2011, addressed a large crowd at College Green in the capital).<\/p>\n There would be some political resistance to that, to put it mildly. The TDs who sat on their hands instead of applauding when Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited might be far more vocal in opposing Trump. For those reasons, take it as an unlikely development.<\/p>\n However, if their president is in Dublin, the Americans would expect that a visit to \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in would be in order, even if it might surprise Trump to find that the incumbent, Catherine Connolly, is a woman and not, as he assumed last Tuesday, a man.<\/p>\n The conversations between the pair, both public and private, could be very difficult, given that the Irish President would be most unlikely to show the restraint displayed by Miche\u00e1l Martin last Tuesday and might cut loose in condemning Trump\u2019s love of war and bullying.<\/p>\n At least she wouldn\u2019t want to play golf with him.<\/p>\n Data centres should pay household rates for electricity<\/p>\n The price of electricity is going up sharply. That is inevitable. Even if the war in the Gulf is ended soonish \u2013 which seems unlikely \u2013 the disruption will take a long time to rectify.<\/p>\n Even though not all electricity is generated from fossil fuels, the price of electricity in this part of the world is tied to the price of gas, which has soared since the American and Israeli bombardment of Iran started. Without effective regulation, suppliers are poised to exploit this with rampant profiteering.<\/p>\n Already over 300,000 households are in arrears on their bills. It has been pointed out that electricity and gas prices are well below the peak they reached in 2022 and 2023 but it\u2019s all relative. Prices did not fall back to where they were in 2021 before the crisis caused by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n People have been spending more of their monthly income on electricity, especially now that the Government has phased out the cost-of-living supports that helped mitigate the bills<\/a>. The increase in prices may not be as sharp as three or four years ago but they will be sizeable still and will come on top of an already elevated level.<\/p>\n In the budget last October the Government not only removed the last supports but didn\u2019t give people any income tax improvements either. Voters were told essentially to maintain their living standards by negotiating inflation-matching pay increases with their employers. But inflation is now likely to tick up sharply again.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/107215259-0-image-a-18_1774039227483.jpg\")
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