Leader receives seal of office, marking low-key end of Varadkar era and start of unofficial countdown to election
Simon Harris has pledged to invigorate Ireland’s ruling coalition after being elected the country’s youngest taoiseach.
The Dáil voted 88 to 69 on Tuesday to anoint Harris, 37, as successor to Leo Varadkar, who unexpectedly announced his resignation last month.
Continue reading...Dublin politician says he is looking forward to a ‘different chapter’ after tendering resignation to president
Leo Varadkar has said he has “no regrets” about standing down, as he officially resigned as Ireland’s taoiseach.
The Dublin politician, who has been the country’s prime minister for four years, said he was looking forward to a “different chapter”.
Continue reading...Each time Madrid and Dublin speak out on the war in Gaza others are emboldened to join them, sources say
Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the Israeli military’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza on Monday night was “a tragic incident” did precious little to allay the fears of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. Nor did his assertion that “this happens in wartime”.
Sánchez, who has been one of the most outspoken and persistent European critics of the way in which Israel has prosecuted its war in Gaza after the terrorist atrocities of 7 October, described the Israeli prime minister’s “supposed explanations” as “totally unacceptable and insufficient”. He added that Spain was waiting for a full and detailed account of the killings before deciding “what action we’ll take with regard to the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu”.
Continue reading...Higher education minister will become taoiseach in April after shock resignation of Leo Varadkar
Simon Harris will become Ireland’s youngest prime minister after the leadership race in his Fine Gael party ended without any other candidates coming forward.
The leadership became vacant after the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, announced his surprise resignation “for personal and political reasons” last week.
Continue reading...Nearly half of Fine Gael parliamentary party endorses 37-year-old as string of potential rivals rule themselves out
The contest to become Ireland’s next prime minister is turning into a one-horse race after the higher education minister, Simon Harris, secured the backing of nearly half his parliamentary party before he had even confirmed he was running.
Within hours of nominations opening on Thursday to succeed Leo Varadkar, whose unexpected resignation as Fine Gael leader and taoiseach shocked the country, Harris had been endorsed by 24 of the party’s 54 TDs (MPs), senators and MEPs.
Continue reading...Varadkar announces decision to resign as taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael party for ‘personal and political’ reasons
Leo Varadkar has announced he is standing down as Ireland’s prime minister and also giving up his role as leader of the Fine Gael party in the ruling coalition, in a surprise move described by pundits as a “political earthquake” for the country.
Citing “personal and political” reasons, Varadkar, 45, announced his decision at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday, saying in an at-times emotional speech that he no longer felt he was the “best person” to lead Ireland.
Continue reading...A collection of more than 7,000 letters will form a publicly accessible digital archive that offers a window to the past
In the week that Ireland turns everything green and celebrates its diaspora, a new online archive has given voice to the human cost paid by generations of emigrants.
More than 7,000 letters from emigrants to North America spanning four centuries have been collected and digitised, giving poignant insight into the homesickness, tribulations, and occasional triumphs, of those who crossed the Atlantic.
Continue reading...Rejection of proposed changes to constitution represent stunning defeat for government and country’s entire political establishment
Proposals to reword Ireland’s 1937 constitution to get rid of outdated language about the role of women and the nature of the family have been comprehensively rejected in a double referendum.
All the major political parties had supported a “Yes-Yes” vote, and the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, had warned that any other result would be a setback for the country. But when the results came in on Saturday they were a resounding “No-No”. So what went wrong, and what happens now?
Continue reading...What appeared to be relatively low-stakes amendments could turn into embarrassing defeat for government
When the Irish government announced it would hold two referendums on International Women’s Day it billed the votes as opportunities to embed inclusivity and equality in a constitution dating from 1937.
Voters will on Friday be asked to delete article 41.2, the so-called “women in the home” provision, and enshrine two proposed amendments on care and family.
Continue reading...Joint letters from prime ministers implore the bloc to act over ‘deteriorating’ situation in Gaza
The prime ministers of Ireland and Spain have implored EU leaders to take action over the “deteriorating” situation in Gaza, demanding an immediate assessment of whether Israel is complying with human rights obligations that are stipulated in a trade deal with the bloc.
The letter was sent amid mounting international calls for Israel to drop plans for a military assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than 1 million Palestinians from the north and centre of the territory have fled seeking safety. At least 74 Palestinians were this week killed in an Israel rescue mission in the city in which two hostages were freed.
Continue reading...Eli Cohen criticised Leo Varadkar’s description of nine-year-old Emily Hand as being ‘lost’, not ‘kidnapped’
The Israeli government has accused Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, of legitimising terror and losing his moral compass by saying a freed Irish-Israeli hostage had been “lost” as opposed to kidnapped.
Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, on Sunday summoned the Irish ambassador to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem for a formal reprimand over Varadkar’s response to the release of nine-year-old Emily Hand, who was reunited with her family after 50 days as a hostage in Gaza.
Continue reading...Mock gallows erected covered in pictures of politicians in ugly scenes in Dublin
Ireland is reviewing security around the seat of government after aggressive protests in Dublin that trapped lawmakers, ended with 13 arrests and were condemned by the country’s leadership as “wrong” and “fascist-like”.
The Oireachtas, Ireland’s legislature, was put into a virtual lockdown for hours on Wednesday by a small but abusive group of about 200 people.
Continue reading...PM says breed, responsible for series of attacks, will be banned once it has been properly defined
Here is the full text of what Rishi Sunak said in his video statement about banning American XL bully dogs. (See 11.50am.)
The American XL bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.
I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.
It’s clear the American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities.
I’ve ordered urgent work to define and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe.
Continue reading...Matt Barrett’s Instagram posts from Westminster Abbey cause embarrassment after Irish delegation sets precedent by attending
When Ireland’s leaders attended the coronation of King Charles III, it was hailed as a milestone in relations between Dublin and London.
The Irish president, Michael D Higgins, the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill, set the precedent – their predecessors had shunned previous coronations – to show respect to their neighbour.
Continue reading...Dominic Raab denies wrongdoing after report on his behaviour delivered to Rishi Sunak this morning
Today’s announcement by the Association of School and College Leaders that it is to hold a formal ballot for national strike action for the first time in its history (see 9.49am) marks a significant development in the ongoing dispute between teachers and the government.
Up until now only members of the National Education Union (NEU) have taken strike action in England, with five more days of strikes planned for later this term. In addition a fresh ballot is to be held to provide the NEU with a mandate for further strike action up until Christmas.
Continue reading...Land Rover was monitoring a dissident republican parade commemorating the 1916 Rising
The British and Irish governments have condemned petrol bomb attacks on police in Derry on the eve of Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland.
A small crowd threw petrol bombs and other missiles at a police Land Rover during a parade by dissident republicans in the Creggan area of the city on Monday. The vehicle briefly caught fire and was withdrawn.
Continue reading...President introduces former Ireland full-back Rob Kearney, a relative, at White House St Patrick’s Day event
Joe Biden has wished the Ireland rugby union team luck in their Grand Slam game against England in Dublin on Saturday.
On Friday, St Patrick’s Day, Biden welcomed the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, to the White House for a traditional visit and talks.
Continue reading...Irish leader meets US president at White House for traditional St Patrick’s Day event a day after making gaffe
Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has apologised for making an apparent joke about Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, during an event in Washington on the eve of St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Varadkar’s comment on Thursday risked overshadowing his meeting with Joe Biden at the White House on Friday for the traditional handing over of a bowl of shamrock to the US president, the most important day in the Irish-American political calendar.
Continue reading...Meeting between Charles and Ursula von de Leyen cancelled, reports say, as Varadkar says deal ‘inching towards conclusion’
Rishi Sunak is facing criticism after reports that a meeting between King Charles and the president of the European Commission was cancelled days before the announcement of an expected deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.
According to reports, there had been plans for an in-person meeting between the king and Ursula von der Leyen, as part of a trip to the UK to seal the deal on the Brexit trading arrangements.
Continue reading...Ireland’s taoiseach regrets Brexit arrangement imposed without agreement of unionists and nationalists
Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has said he regrets that the Northern Ireland protocol he agreed with Boris Johnson to end a Brexit impasse was signed without the agreement of unionists and nationalists.
The admission came as the latest deadline to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland passed with the Democratic Unionist party continuing to refuse to take part in protest against the protocol.
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