Is it a Trojan horse for privatisation and cutbacks, or a panacea for the city’s ailing transport network? DIT transport-planning lecturer David O’Connor looks at the debate around the proposed changes.
Other cities are waking up to the connection between tech growth, inequality, and housing – and looking at how companies can step up to help.
A reader asks whether the hairstyle she wants to wear would be cultural appropriation. Emma has some advice.
“Without empathy, thousands of our fellow citizens who are homeless will become irretrievably, permanently other. But they are not other.”
“The problem can, realistically, only be resolved by state intervention,” writes a UCD political-economy lecturer.
“It’s a truism that if you work too long in any large organisation, your understanding of reality gradually warps,” writes a former council planner.
Earlier this summer, Fianna Fáil released a set of proposals for supporting quality newspaper journalism. But if newspapers are going to survive, they’re going to have to save themselves, rather than counting on the government.
Incomes are growing but not as fast as rents – and not so much as to outweigh the advantages of inherited and other wealth, writes a UCD political economy lecturer.
How can seemingly similar planning applications get very different responses from the council? In part two of our insider’s guide, an ex-Dublin City Council planner explains.
For some of the food-related place names, the move from Irish to English has masked their resonance and origins, writes a DIT lecturer and chef.
During his Ireland tour, the author and former slave found “receptive audiences keen to link their own political aspirations to his”.
Advice on how to navigate the Planning Department of Dublin City Council, from someone in the know.
Right now, a blow to even a single large player could have serious consequences for a lot of real jobs, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
“I have been known to litter-pick toilet roll inserts and hot-drink holders to take them home for the compost heap,” writes our guerilla gardening columnist.
There is no shortage of examples of a rotten culture of illegality in the Irish banking sector, writes UCD lecturer Joe McGrath, our white-collar crime columnist.
A significant increase in military spending seems no more prudent a use of scarce resources than the hire of luxury limousines, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
“It was odd that we had to wait for two hours for corporations’ advertisements – that they were given priority,” writes asylum seeker Evgeny Shtorn.
After Apple was called out for its tax arrangements in 2015, it changed things up. Now, it avoids tax through what some researchers are calling a “green jersey” routine, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
O’Meara’s Irish House wasn’t your normal drinking establishment.
“It is time to connect the dots, and stop the long arm of property assets reaching into the pockets of citizens,” writes Joseph Kilroy.
But unless the city-centre congestion is dealt with, we are unlikely to be any better off with or without BusConnects, writes DIT transport-planning lecturer David O’Connor.
While you’re trying to save water you might still be wondering how to look after those wilting flowers in your garden or windowsill, writes guerilla gardener Ciaran O’Byrne.
“How can immigrants, or the children of immigrants, be against immigration? Do they not see the utter hypocrisy of it?” a reader asks. Chinedum offers some answers.
An analysis from University College Dublin shows that the average Dublin city-centre commuter could save 86 hours a year by switching their car for a bicycle.
Since the crash, courts have indicated a greater willingness to consider white-collar criminality potentially as much of a threat to the security of the state as ordinary crime.
Maybe if he’d gone to one of Ireland’s elite fee-paying schools, Drumm would – like Peter Sutherland – have learned how to deflect criticism of the damage he did.
Patrick Byrne was a purveyor of incendiary ideas on eighteenth-century Grafton Street.
A whimsy from illustrator Sarah Woods.
The solution to Dublin’s infrastructure woes isn’t to try to move people elsewhere, it’s to invest in the city, writes DIT local-development and planning lecturer Odran Reid.
The extent of the government’s use of paid-for “articles” to spread its messages about Ireland 2040 and other policies is made clear in dozens of documents released by the Department of the Taoiseach.
“If the government itself ignores the law when it’s inconvenient, can the rest of us do that too?” writes Sam Tranum.
Ultimately, we need more public housing. But that shouldn’t stop the government regulating short-term lets in the meantime, writes UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
This week’s cartoon from Sarah Woods.
“The EU’s rules are malleable and they can be challenged by governments with the resolve and backbone to do so,” writes UCD political-economy lecturer Andy Storey.
The proposals to pull down this historic public housing mark a new low in the social cleansing of our city, writes Councillor Éilis Ryan.
Glimpses of the livery on some new buses suggest that they have shed their yellow. Here’s why that’s a problem, writes DIT transport-planning lecturer David O’Connor.
Dublin City Council looks set to sell lands near IKEA to a big-box retailer, which could bring more jobs to Ballymun. While welcome, the move again highlights the stagnation of the suburb’s centre.
Talk of an “Irish FBI” is a great sound bite, writes white-collar columnist Joe McGrath. But the state needs to put its hand in its pocket and pay for it.
A reader says he “melts” at the sight of “a pretty black girl on the street or in the office” and asks, “What should I do?”
Elite schools expect, and self-righteously demand, state support – while less-wealthy schools struggle, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
By cartoonist Sarah Woods.
As the neighbourhood changes, what can this grey monolith show us about the connection between people, buildings and the place they share? asks an architect.
They were pitched as unambiguously good, regardless of what they help do to the very sustainability of life on earth, writes a UCD political economy lecturer.
This week’s cartoon, from illustrator Karen Vaughan.
Water is key to development, to industry, to house building, and to food production. So here are some suggestions for how to solve our supply problems, writes DIT lecturer Odran Reid.
It makes no sense to give hundreds of thousands of euro in sports grants to wealthy colleges, and golf and yacht clubs, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
Advice columnist Emma Dabiri responds to one immigrant reader who asks if it would be weird if they started using Dublin slang, and another wondering about the best way to show solidarity online.
Critics of the ODCE should remember that it has had an extraordinary impact, despite having a limited remit and limited resources, writes our white-collar crime columnist.
This week’s cartoon by Sarah Woods.
Some critics of Direct Provision highlight the potential economic contribution that is being wasted, but that is not the main reason the system is wrong, writes UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
BusConnects can deliver a high-quality public transport network in the city, but it needs to be underpinned by something else: an effective community transport service.
Coming soon from the government’s Strategic Communications Unit, perhaps? Cartoonist Harry Burton imagines.
It’s a common refrain, but the figures just don’t bear it out, writes Mick Byrne of the Dublin Tenants Association.
The area needs a greater mix of incomes, and building a Lidl and a six-storey student accommodation won’t help with that, writes DIT lecturer Odran Reid.
The moral relativism applied to bankers goes missing in other areas of public policy, writes UCD lecturer Andy Storey. Would Leo Varadkar have run a campaign with the slogan “banking cheats cheat us all”?
“What’s often overlooked in the broad sweep of articles and statistics about homelessness is that homelessness itself is a trauma,” writes Christine O’Donnell.
By illustrator Harry Burton.
A Valentine’s Day cartoon from Sarah Woods.
The idea that large social-housing developments are doomed to dystopia is rarely challenged. But it is wrong, write three housing experts.
“Paradoxically, widespread and systemic change may be achieved by focusing on individual accountability for a small number of senior managers,” writes our white-collar crime columnist.
Irish crime correspondents could use a wider definition when they discuss the nefarious activities of organised drug gangs – one that includes Big Pharma, writes a UCD political economy lecturer.
When women of African descent refuse to wear their hair natural, is it self-hate or just fashion? a reader asks. Emma has answers.
This week’s cartoon by Harry Burton, on the #HousingCrisis.
It was satisfying to see European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly fire a shot across the bows of the European Central Bank last week, writes a UCD political economy lecturer.
“There needs to be a bigger vision than making Luas Cross City work, simply because it cost a lot of money to put it there,” writes a DIT transport planning lecturer.
Kicking off the new year, with cartoonist Sarah Woods.
“This insistence that you must be from elsewhere is deeply disorientating, and can leave you feeling extremely lost and anchorless – at least that’s how I felt,” writes Emma Dabiri, in response to a reader.
Professionals needed. This week’s cartoon from Sarah Woods.
A reader says she thinks that young people of African descent in Ireland should know more about their shared Pan-African heritage. What’s the path to that? she asks. Emma has advice.
This week’s cartoon from Harry Burton.
Pressure is already mounting to dispense with plans to pedestrianise College Green and create a civic plaza. That would be rash, writes a DIT transport planning lecturer.
The EU has left Ireland off its list of tax havens, but it shouldn’t have. After all, Ireland allows corporate revenues to flow through in a way that denies tax rightfully due to other jurisdictions, writes Andy Storey.
This week’s contribution from cartoonist Sarah Woods.
Imposing a minimum price on alcohol would enrich big drinks companies. Upping taxes on all alcohol would achieve the same public-health aims, but steer the cash to state programmes instead, writes Andy Storey.
Illustrator Harry Burton on the state of the Dáil.
The latest cartoon from Sarah Woods.
“My partner is a Muslim woman of colour from the UK, and I’m keen to move back to Dublin … but I’m worried I’d be bringing her to a city which is much whiter than London, and might well be more racist or Islamophobic,” a reader worries. Emma has advice.
A recent government report noted that Dublin is doing much better than the rest of the country. That’s true, but not everyone in the city is benefiting equally, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
Cartoonist Harry Burton on counting the homeless.
This week’s cartoon from illustrator Sarah Woods.
There are still a few days left to have your say on what might be a critical document for Dublin’s future, writes DIT transport planning lecturer David O’Connor.
A reader asks for advice on how to teach a diverse class of students to help them feel proud of their heritage. Columnist Emma Dabiri offers some ideas.
We don’t need European intervention to adjudicate in the tracker-mortgage scandal. The Irish government just needs to do its job, says UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
This week’s cartoon, on a startling Dublin institution.
Emma Dabiri responds to readers’ questions about navigating race and identity in Ireland.
The ambition of making Dublin “the most playful and child-friendly city in the world” runs up against the structural inequalities and political choices that ensure much greater opportunities for some than others, writes Andy Storey.
The portrayal of psychosis in “Tribes” was sensitive, contextualised and humane. Unfortunately, this is generally not the case.
The latest from cartoonist Sarah Woods.
Here’s cartoonist Harry Burton’s take on the fizzle and bangs of fireworks season.
There was, understandably, little emphasis on transport in Budget 2018 but here’s how the government can get the most bang for its buck, writes David O’Connor.
It’s time to reflect on the state of race relations in Ireland and to think meaningfully about issues both of difference and belonging. Send me your questions, writes Emma Dabiri.
Private businesses shape Dubliners’ lives in fragmented ways. Local government needs more power so it can mould the city’s overall form and feel, argue two geographers.
This week’s cartoon by Sarah Woods, from the Department of Notionology.
While it might seem attractive to individual employers, reliance on low wages and poor working conditions is not a recipe for broad-based economic success, political economy lecturer Andy Storey writes.
From one Dubliner to another. This week’s cartoon from Harry Burton.
Dublin’s commuter towns are set for continued rapid growth and now’s the time for a new transport plan to support them, writes transport expert David O’Connor.
“I get to see how creativity and expression can have an effect on the lives of people living life on the edge of society, and help them somewhat in their struggle,” writes poet Karl Parkinson.
This week’s cartoon, from Sarah Woods.
“If we look at the major policy initiatives over the last two years, it is hard to draw any other conclusion,” writes Mick Byrne.
One reader wants to return his sex life to earlier, kinkier times. Another asks whether he should be worried that his boyfriend stays out so late without him.
New research offers a fascinating glimpse into Dublin’s shadow-banking, where tax avoidance and other dubious practices are the order of the day, writes Andy Storey.
This week’s illustration from cartoonist Harry Burton.
Illustrator Aidan Harte’s take on Airbnb-ers.
One reader asks for advice on how to deal with a lingering anger at a violation by a past boyfriend. Another says she feels threatened by kisses.
Hosting large sports events bring risks as well as rewards for countries – both of which are likely to be distributed extremely unequally, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
Illustrator Harry Burton on the next step for students.
When we talk about Dublin, what geographical area are we talking about? Including within a city’s boundaries only areas with shared interests is key to success.
Here’s illustrator Harry Burton on the monopoly the Premier League has over football fandom.
One person writes in with a question about how to stay safe during casual hook-ups, and another writes in complaining that her partner doesn’t last long enough. Roe has advice.
The former taoiseach, as much as anyone, helped to drive the economy off a cliff. His reward? A seat on the board of Topaz, and now an honorary doctorate.
Cartoonist Harry Burton on who the city is for.
Illustrator Harry Burton on learning to drive.
One reader says she wants kids but feels she is just too broke, and another worries that she isn’t as “tight” as she should be.
“I naively believed my support system would carry me through any fallouts and it would never come to that,” writes Christine O’Donnell.
Illustrator Harry Burton on the Dublin we’ve made.
Pay for people working in hotels, bars and restaurants is half the national average. But this can be hard, physical, sometimes dangerous work.
The greenway network would offer much more than something for cyclists, and the benefits go way beyond commuting, writes DIT transport planning lecturer David O’Connor.
The rules around conflicts of interest and corruption may be there, but if they are not enforced in the most high-profile cases, then how useful are they? asks UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
“The coach unpiles and I am in my first Portaloo queue of the day, and thank the holy spirit it’s clean…” A poet’s journey to perform at a summer festival.
We need to consider the needs of low-income families, and make sure that workers’ rights are protected and recycling is incentivised, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
For people at the lower rungs of the income ladder, Dublin’s high cost of living is more than an irritation – it is a full-blown crisis, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
One reader asks if it would be a bad move for her and her fiancé to sleep in different beds, and another questions what to make of what they found on a family computer.
It could provide the equivalent of 7 new Metro North schemes, 20 dublinbikes schemes, or 6 Luas Cross City schemes. It’s important that officials communicate their plans.
I’ll go the shop, into the butchers, need chicken for the dinner, a fella asked me once how many chickens do you think get eaten everyday, think about it he says, like you’ve chicken in so many things …
A married woman has sex sometimes when she isn’t particularly into it, and a friend is concerned. A woman with a non-boyfriend boyfriend is hurt and confused. Roe has advice.
Not LGBTQ people, not migrants, and certainly not the interests of the economically marginalized, writes Andy Storey.
Researcher Chris Lowe says some figures going around about “bogus disability claims” are exaggerated, and others are just wrong.
Roe McDermott responds to one reader who has concerns that a new girlfriend might be faking her enjoyment in bed, and another perplexed at her treatment by old friends.
“I always see myself in paintings, former me, me now, as a child, me not yet alive, the all inspiring I in the us,” writes Karl Parkinson, in this saunter through current Dublin exhibitions.
Some fear that changes on the quays and elsewhere will reroute heavy traffic into residential areas. Actually, the traffic will likely just “evaporate”, writes DIT lecturer David O’Connor.
One woman says positions she’s seen in porn aren’t working for her, and another is wondering whether to sleep with an old friend who’s visiting soon. Roe has advice.
Leaving the provision of housing to profit-making private-sector actors is bad enough, but charging them with the reception of those seeking refuge from persecution is unforgivable.
A reader asks when chokers became an invite for dick pics, and another questions the invisibility of trans men.
The plan to hand over the new national maternity hospital to the Sisters of Charity is just one more symptom of an ideological opposition to the state provision of services.
For the last year or so in Ireland, a particular typeface has become associated with protest and politically progressive movements. How did that come about?
Ultimately, the RTB is based on the logic that the most vulnerable actor within the rental sector – the tenant – should be tasked with ensuring landlords play by the rules. This simply does not work, writes Mick Byrne.
While average pay is still high, there appears to be a creeping two-tier system, with many employees on fixed-term, low-pay contracts doing routine work, writes researcher Alicja Bobek.
There is a wealth of evidence that urban greenways don’t dampen property prices. In fact, they do the opposite, writes David O’Connor.
One woman asks Roe for advice on finding a partner while continuing her career, and another wonders how to cope with being harassed on the street by men.
From shopping centres to agriculture, we’re beginning to see why it matters that vulture funds have such a presence here, writes UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
We should be much more imaginative about how we could use this land to tackle wider social and economic problems, write Philip Comerford and Thomas Legge.
Life among the hip, smart, cool, transy, funky poet children, the sons, daughters and othered of Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsberg and Patti Smith.
Homelessness for some, unaffordable homes for many others, and super-profits for a few. Yet there is another way, writes UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
We have mapped 106 locations we believe have residential swimming pools, writes UCD geography lecturer Eoin O’Mahony and two of his students.
Is there any reason to “come out” as asexual? And is snooping on a partner as bad as cheating on one? Roe offers advice on two dilemmas.
Far more construction workers today are self-employed than before the crash, which means they’re getting lower wages and fewer protections.
One reader asks how to stop herself from getting together with guys in relationships, and another asks why guys are so slow to go down on girls.
They made good money before and after the crash. But do such financial engineering services actually do more harm than good? asks UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
Over the years, many transport experts have challenged authorities with visionary maps of how Dubliners might get proper access to the city they live in. This is a tribute to their ideas.
In his monthly column, poet and performer Karl Parkinson will reflect on arts and the city. Here’s the first installment.
The scaffolding of our city is suffering from systematic disinvestment, writes Mick Byrne, a researcher at UCD’s School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice.
The government does not seem alarmed at the cost of the hospital, even while it squeezes teachers and Bus Eireann over far smaller sums, writes Andy Storey.
“I hate the idea of faking orgasms but should I just do it?” asks a reader.
The low-wages and flexible hours in the hospitality sector are good for employers, but not for employees. It’s time the benefits were passed on, writes Alicja Bobek.
The council has begun to tweak traffic signals. The Luas should be testing ghost trains soon. And an iconic public space is finally being designed.
Roe McDermott answers one reader’s question about how to stay safe while being intimate online in a long-distance relationship, and another’s on gym clothes.
In 2015, Tesco group CEO Dave Lewis was paid £4.6 million. By contrast, the workers whose wages Tesco is now trying to cut are paid just over €14 per hour.
The better you get to know a culture, the better you get to know informal ways of communication, the more you realise you’re an outsider.
Roe McDermott reflects on the darker side of M. Night Shyamalan’s new horror film, Split, and responds to one reader struggling with her Christian past and present sex life.
When Nicky Daly called her local Garda station to report racist harassment by a man with a baseball bat, she was told somebody would come along. Why didn’t they?
What recovery there has been is selective and very concentrated, benefiting certain sectors, regions (Dublin especially) and some workers over others.
How does the publication of Nicholas Pell’s op-ed and William Reville’s column fit with the paper’s pledges to discourage discrimination, promote tolerance, and oppose hatred?
Advice columnist Roe McDermott answers questions from two readers on Trump, shame and prostitutes, and from a third reader on sex dreams.
Compared to growth in overall traffic figures, public transport barely kept pace last year, writes DIT transport planning lecturer David O’Connor.
Public provision of public housing used to be commonplace in Ireland, but then we shifted to rely more on the market. It’s not working, says Andy Storey.
Roe responds to a woman who was raped and wants to overcome the anxiety she now feels during sex. Also: Roe offers her new year’s sex resolutions.
The decision to wind down agencies such as the Temple Bar Cultural Trust and Ballymun Regeneration Limited was questionable, argue David O’Connor and Odran Reid.
To stimulate the economy, the ECB is making cheap loans to large corporations, among them, some of Ireland’s.
One reader asks how to respond to messages from guys she has rejected on Tinder, and another asks how to confront homophobia among elderly relatives.
Should we pat ourselves on the back for not (yet anyway) embracing the electoral rise of the far right? Yes and no, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
As traffic levels continue to grow in the Dublin area, the NTA appears to be realising the increasingly urgent and pertinent role of the “Core Bus Network”.
Roe McDermott responds to one reader who worries that his brother-in-law won’t accept it if his son is gay, and another reader who questions why she has stomach problems after sex.
The case for boosting Dublin’s water supply is unassailable, but there are reasons for concern, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
We should be able to transfer between buses, the Luas, and the Dart, without being charged more, writes DIT transport planning lecturer David O’Connor.
One reader worries that her partner’s small genitalia could be a sign of health problems, and another wonders whether PrEP is available in Ireland yet.
One of the most powerful scenes in the coruscating new Ken Loach film “I, Daniel Blake” is set in a food bank in Newcastle, writes UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
Planning rules are not behind the housing shortage, writes DIT lecturer David O’Connor. We need to look elsewhere.
One reader asks why people have different stories about how the pill affects them. Another wonders how to handle her Ross-and-Rachel situation. Roe answers.
Moving the seat of government to a purpose-built complex somewhere else could allow Kildare Street to flourish as the vibrant cultural quarter it was meant to be, writes Thomas Legge.
Apart from the intense cutbacks and privations they have endured, what distinguishes the situation of Travellers is the racism which they regularly face.
For the new Luas Cross City to run smoothly, we need to have a workable city-centre transport study pinned down. We are in a race against time to make sure that happens.
Roe McDermott says it’s not enough to pretend to be shocked about Donald Trump saying he assaults women, and she advises a man who worries he’ll have to learn to love open relationships to date in this day and age.
When the children of St Mochta’s National School march on Dáil Éireann on Wednesday, they need more than words and plans.
The council estimates that the Liffey Quay Cycle Route will carry up to 1,500 cyclists per hour along the north quays. That’s far more people than private cars could carry along that route.
Roe McDermott answers one reader who wants his girlfriend to talk about feminism, and another who asks of its racist to say one race is better in bed than another.
Dublin Bus wants more productivity out of its workers. That will require less congested roads, and an updated route map, says transport lecturer David O’Connor.
Ireland is a low-wage economy and victory for Dublin Bus workers would be a step towards fixing that, says Andy Storey.
In this week’s column, our advice columnist answers a question from a reader about how to end a friends-with-benefits arrangement, and then touches on a couple of other points of casual-sex etiquette.
“It’s not easy – I know, I’ve been working in this field for years. But communicating with us is your job,” writes Liz Carolan.
Only political pressure can help the government finally admit to seeing the bad corporate behaviour all around it, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
It’s also about strategic positioning and posturing as Dublin’s transport network faces a potential transformation, writes DIT transport planning lecturer David O’Connor.
A reader queries whether the media is right to cover Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal, and another says she’s worried she can’t orgasm in company.
Parents who struggle to meet the costs of “free” education are also subsidising the education of those well enough off to afford elite schools, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
If successful, the DCTA’s effort to stop the council from pedestrianising College Green will hurt the city centre, writes DIT transport planning lecturer David O’Connor.
One reader asks for a way to boost her sex drive while on antidepressants, and another asks how she can ensure a teenage sibling gets advice that empowers.
Irish news sources regularly run articles on research done in other countries, but downplay this fact, leaving us to click before we realise it isn’t relevant to our lives.
One reader questions her boyfriend’s definition of a blow job, and another reader wonders if she should apologise for getting her period. Roe has answers.
If we in the news media want to improve the journalism we are producing, we need to give ourselves the right incentives.
The billions in taxes that corporations are legally avoiding paying are a far bigger problem that the millions misappropriated at charities, writes UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
Our advice columnist counsels one man on explaining old self-harm scars to new partners, and another on how to react upon realising a dating-site profile was misleading.
They’re obstacles for low-income aspiring students, they feed inequality, and they debase the fabric of society, says political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
One woman thinks she might have broken threesome etiquette, and another is worried there’s something abnormal about her clit. Roe has answers.
There is no word for someone who’s not white Irish who settles here, which marks them as part of the community of Ireland. Does that mean they’ll never feel at home?
How can we know if the bin-charge price freezes will lead to the losses the waste companies claim they will, when company accounts are so opaque?
One reader asks whether to stay in a relationship that lacks physical intimacy, and another asks why it’s okay for guys to go topless but not women.
Imagine if Brexit were a first step towards the break-up of the EU, says UCD lecturer Andy Storey. It might signal an end to “the straitjacket of EU neoliberalism” for countries such as Ireland.
Gangland exists for two reasons: prohibition and inequality. Those who profess an urgent desire to address the situation are determined to tackle neither.
One reader asks whether she should end it with a guy who asked her to leave after sex. Another seeks advice on addressing a gender non-binary friend.
Some journalists find, report and write the news. Others read these original reports and rewrite them, without giving credit or payment. Is that fair?
Even a cursory glance at Dublin’s past shows how inequality and trees are clearly political.
Today, tenants in the private rented sector again find themselves at the sharp end of housing inequality, and again ignored by those whose decisions create that inequality.
It is remarkable (if unsurprising) that the Irish government has been encouraging the vultures’ entry into the Irish market.
A reader asks if its okay to push her boyfriend to try something he recoils from, and a second reader ruminates on how she handled an open relationship.
The paper of record has run things in its print edition that appear to be independent journalism, but are in fact advertiser-sponsored content.
From peat for power to beef production, Irish and EU subsidies help to make polluting profitable. Last year the rest of the EU cut emissions but Ireland increased them.
The arts, although saturated with middle-class voices, are getting an infusion of working-class blood. It’s an exciting moment for our society.
Most debates about the housing crisis lead back to one place: the acute shortage of social housing. Tenant purchase schemes are making that shortage worse.
Roe answers questions from a woman wondering about her guy’s status, and another letter writer who wonders how lesbians lose their virginity.
It is bad enough that Ireland facilitates tax avoidance, but it is even worse that it facilitates the business of death.
Our advice columnist answers questions from a man who wonders what sex with would be like with a woman who uses a wheelchair, and a woman who’s been raped.
Rising rents mean single parents are being forced further and further away from those who can support them. They are “austerity nomads”.
A powerful economic argument fuelled the drive for independence, but those involved in the Rising didn’t envision a low-tax location for US capital, with homeless children living on its streets.
People comment on what they call my “strong Dublin accent” a lot, a phrase that belittles how I speak, because it’s not just an accent, it’s a dialect – one with a rich history, one I’m proud of.
This week Roe answers questions from a woman who’s worried about whether she’s allowed to enjoy being choked, and another who feels bad about dumping her very nice boyfriend.
With every meal, every class of tai chi, every day I don’t pay some dickhead €20 to feel like a human being, I’m reclaiming my right to pride and dignity.
It is, in large part, the way in which the state has responded to the property price crash that has allowed vulture funds to be enriched and selected local developers cosseted.
When you isolate people, they start to form their own societies, receiving legitimacy from each other instead of the dominant culture. Enter Dublin hip-hop, writes Dara Quigley.
A PR company recently offered to send Dublin Inquirer a bottle of whiskey that they wanted us to write about.
Roe answers one question from a woman puzzled about why her S&M-loving boyfriend won’t play with her, and another from a woman despondent about having caught herpes.
This was clearly a vote against the governing parties, but it would be wishful thinking to see it as a vote for a fair and equal Ireland, argues UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
Advice columnist Roe McDermott responds to one reader’s issue with the #NotAllMen trope on Twitter, and another reader who wonders if she should listen to warnings from her new guy’s female friends.
What has been driving the housing crisis in Dublin is the absence of credit within Ireland’s financial system – in other words, from Irish banks, writes Mick Byrne, a researcher at UCD.
Fine Gael’s election slogan, which calls on voters to “keep the recovery going”, should, on the face of it, be a powerful mobilising tool for the governing parties. And yet, it may, perversely, prove counter-productive.
When your TD calls this month looking for your vote, ask why they should have their travel costs to work paid when you have to pay your travel costs out of your taxed income, which is much less that the TD’s salary of €87,258 per year.
Our advice columnist rages about reports of a private Facebook group at UCD through which men are said to have swapped and rated naked pictures of women, and she also answers a question from a reader whose boyfriend has a clown fetish.
Many of Ireland’s major news outlets, from The Irish Times to The Journal, have turned to native advertising as a way to boost revenues. But at what cost?
The government lacks the self-awareness to realise that Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton should be turning up at the closings of food banks, not the openings.
Despite Transparency International’s latest report, it is no time to be congratulating ourselves on how little corruption apparently takes place in Ireland.
Roe responds to one reader who was assaulted by her manager and asks why she feels guilty and ashamed, and another who is trying to navigate an open relationship in a small town.
That Ireland is an increasingly unequal society is probably not news to most people. What may be less well known is the role Ireland plays in facilitating the rise of global inequality, says political economist Andy Storey.
The newspaper published a story headlined “Poll: Terrorists Hide Among Our Refugees”. The headline was absolute garbage, and the article wasn’t much better. Here’s why.
These days – the poor, the working poor, the working class, the middle-class – almost all of us are screwed. The wealth is trickling upwards to a very few.
Roe advises a woman on whether she can leave her kids’ sex education up to the internet, and a man on what to do about his crush on someone who’s not his “lawfully wedded ride”.
Far from being a triumph, the coming on stream of Corrib gas represents the culmination of a long process of what can only be described as economic treason, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
Dara Quigley asks why, for those with little spare cash, Dublin’s centre is so unwelcoming. And why do we put up with it?
After COP21 in Paris, and its adoption of a wide-ranging programme to tackle climate change, we’ll need to improve our game.
Under the guise of helping the “squeezed middle”, the government is funneling money upwards to the elite while deepening deprivation for those on the bottom rungs of Irish society.
How should you handle that talk with a partner about STI testing? How can you navigate a healthy, fun, no-strings-attached sexual relationship? Our advice columnist Roe McDermott has the answers.
A project to let citizen developers build homes in the inner city sounded like such a good idea when it was first floated in the depths of the recession. Unfortunately, it has fallen at an early hurdle.
In Ireland, competitiveness is for little people. When it comes to the golden circle of privileged insiders – including the elite of the legal profession – cost control goes out the window, and transparency and proper regulation go with it.
We are witnessing another round of finance-driven urban development, a fact which speaks to the current poverty of imagination and ambition among those who hold the levers of power.
One reader worries she was wrong to call a boyfriend “Daddy” during sex, and another asks for advice on how to address a relative who has come out as transgender.
When College Green is reordered, where should its statues be moved to? Frank McDonald has some ideas.
Nasir Jamal, chief reporter for the newspaper Dawn, gives the view from Pakistan on why many of his countrymen and women are leaving to chase their dreams in Europe.
Our advice columnist tackles some more abortion myths. Can foetuses feel pain? Are abortions dangerous?
It looks like the government is going to use what may well be temporary, one-off tax revenues to fund a giveaway budget designed to buy an election, writes UCD political economy lecturer Andy Storey.
If the houses are built to anything like the standards that apply in Austria or Scandinavia, the families who’ll end up living in them won’t want to leave.
Our columnist Roe McDermott answers questions from an anxious woman who frets she’ll be single forever, and from another seeking advice about anal.
The government has to challenge property interests if it wants to see Ireland’s tech ecosystem thrive. Otherwise, companies will run off to Portugal.
Dublin City Council senior planner Kieran Rose explains some of his past housing policy successes, and asks how we can build on them in the future.
We can’t kick everybody out of Clontarf and Sandymount. So we’d better have a good plan for how to protect them from flooding, which means more than building a view-blocking wall.
Could this be the first transport plan in decades that just might lead to a genuine improvement in quality of life for Dubliners?
Our advice columnist explains pansexuality to one correspondent, and offers some tips to a gay guy who’s tired of his female housemate walking around naked.
Be prepared for a quarter of St Stephen’s Green to be dug up and turned into a huge hole in the ground.
Advice columnist Roe McDermott takes on the abortion debate, providing you with some material that’s “Perfect for alienating bigoted relatives around the dinner table!”
On North Inner-City development, rising rents and the homelessness crisis, the government is looking out for property interests, rather than the people’s interests.
Even though Ireland has breached EU standards for pollution, when it bought new buses, it bought diesel-powered models, rather than cleaner ones.
Private companies have made millions from direct-provision centres for “old” refugees already in Ireland, and someone’s likely to make huge profits from “new” Syrian refugees too, when they arrive.
Roe McDermott advises a man who’s wondering whether he should tell his evil ex girlfriend that he has an STI, and a woman who doesn’t believe that the man she wants to sleep with is asexual.
Transfixed like a rabbit in headlamps by the fear of being sued for damages, engineers are still applying old thinking – as exemplified by new guardrails near St Stephen’s Green, writes Frank McDonald.
Columnist Roe McDermott answers a question from a woman who wonders whether it’s okay to finish herself off, and another who has a problem with the pill.
The tech boom in Dublin’s docklands has been made possible by a flow of cheap cash from America. But that won’t last forever; interest rates will rise.
Until we build more homes, we need to raise the rent supplement, introduce rent certainty and make several other changes, writes Bob Jordan, chief executive of housing charity Threshold.
Most of those opposed to making Dublin’s city centre nicer for pedestrians, cyclists and public-transport users are car-users who live out in the suburbs. Why should the city be designed for them?
Our advice columnist answers questions from one man who is worried about watching porn, and another whose partner has an aversion to his kink.
Banks are under-reporting profits where they actually carry out much of their work, while they are over-reporting them in those tax regimes that offer them the most favourable treatment. Ireland, of course, features prominently.
Developers are not the only option in town when it comes to building houses, particularly on local authority-owned land.
No major change in public policy happens by accident. So who’s been pushing for smaller apartments? Frank names names.
Dublin’s housing problem stems from this: at a state level, housing policy is dominated by a politically motivated rural ideology.
Columnist Roe McDermott advises one woman who is anxious that her libido is too low, and another who is afraid that her body is not beach-ready.
Personally, if I had a gun, I’d shoot the lot of them and restore the lake to the placid ducks, swans and water hens
Dublin is a key hub in a web of labour-undermining schemes. It functions as a crucial “flying column” attacking labour and servicing capital in the EU.
Columnist Roe McDermott takes questions from one woman who is worried that her guy faked an orgasm, and another who wonders how many partners is too many.
Why doesn’t Dublin have more zebra crossings? Is it because planners here have a fundamentally pessimistic view of human behaviour?
Grimy footpaths, litter in the streets, waste bags on the steps of houses, people pissing where they please: something must be done about dirty Dublin.
What does Dundrum Town Centre tell us about the political economy of Dublin? Quite a lot, actually: about cultural homogenisation and corruption.
A feminist wonders whether her partner should have a say in her abortion choice, and a guy worries about a friend who’s only into Asian girls.
People who live in Dublin need to be protected against abusive proprietors so that we can enjoy the relative peace and tranquility of our homes.
Our sex and sexuality columnist tackles questions from readers on whether being “transracial” is as legitimate as being transgendered, and on the best sex toys for people who like to masturbate with pillows.
Cuts to payments for lone parents are meant to push them into work, but Andy Storey questions whether there are decent jobs to be found in a recovery “increasingly based on the exploitation of low-paid and insecure workers”.
Just 30 years ago, city transport planners were on a completely different track.
In Roe McDermott’s first biweekly column for Dublin Inquirer, she sets out what you can expect from her.
In taking over vacant sites, some citizens are making up for government inaction.
Even though Grafton Street has been finished for three months, there has been very little comment on whether it’s good, bad or indifferent.
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