The country’s power dynamic must change if we truly aspire to be a republic in which citizens come first, writes ELAINE BYRNE in THE IRISH TIMES February 23 2010 OUR CONSTITUTION does not contain the word republic. Although the memory of the republic is rehearsed each year at the gravesides of Wolfe Tone and [...]
Archive for February, 2010
No incentive for politicians to reform status quo
16 Feb 10
Institutional change is necessary to restore public faith in politics – but it can only happen from the bottom up, writes ELAINE BYRNE in THE IRISH TIMES February 16 2010 WHY ARE those who seek to make politics better regarded as being anti-politics? Why are practical proposals to reform an antiquated political system deliberately [...]
Lee could have been contender but was left an outsider
09 Feb 10
The message for those contemplating making the jump to public life is that only insiders will dominate politics, writes ELAINE BYRNE in the IRISH TIMES February 9 2010 “IT IS a privilege to be here, of which I am conscious . . . Given the outcome of the byelection, there is no going back [...]
Let people have their say on type of country they want
02 Feb 10
Reform of the Irish political system will only happen when the public takes ownership of the reform process In the IRISH TIMES February 2 2010 HENRY GRATTAN retired from parliament in 1797 in protest over his proposed political reforms being ignored. He was convinced that in the absence of vital and fundamental reform, Ireland [...]
