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TDs: Has Shatter got access to secret files?Coalition TDs have demanded to know if Alan Shatter has access to secret files on prominent politicians, journalists and public figures, as the controversy surrounding the justice minister continued to escalate.
Yacht can be yours... for €700k per weekThe sleek white Lauren L yacht has become Cork's latest tourist attraction, and you have to admit, it definitely adds a touch of glamour to the place.
- WORLD
Yahoo’s $1.1bn gamble on Tumblr Yahoo said it is acquiring blogging service Tumblr for $1.1bn (€850m) cash, a bold bet by chief executive Marissa Mayer to revitalise the struggling internet pioneer by co-opting a web property with strong visitor traffic but little revenue.
Hungary meets German pressure with Nazi tauntsTensions between Germany and Hungary have flared over remarks by the countries' leaders, including references to Hitler's occupation of the eastern European country in 1944 and an irritated German government response condemning Hungary's allusion to the Nazi era as "deplorable derailment".
- BUSINESS
Ryanair results help stock soar by €600m The value of Ryanair increased by more than €600m in one day's trading yesterday after the company reported stronger than expected results.
PTSB claims 60% increase in current accounts following fee-free offerPermanent TSB has reported a huge increase in new account openings since it launched its no-fee current account.
- SPORT
Limerick lose out again Limerick's Division 1B defeat by Dublin won't be revisited despite the question of Paul Ryan's eligibility in the game.
Paulie backs O’Gara coaching callPaul O'Connell has backed former Munster team-mate Ronan O'Gara to be a "great" coach after the fly-half announced he was retiring and taking a job on Racing Metro's backroom staff.
- LIFESTYLE
Time on Stewart’s side as album tops UK chartsRod Stewart said he was "over the moon" as he celebrated his 15th No 1 with a champagne toast.
Reunion sparks renewed synths of purposeANDY McCluskey has mellowed.
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Britain and Europe - Debate will strengthen EU project
It would be foolish to imagine that a coalition of 27 nations, with a population of something over 500m people, each with different priorities, national characteristics, cultural, religious and political instincts, contrasting histories of domination or subjugation, could, for decades, seamlessly work together building an ever more unified entity without disagreement or even an occasional refusal to take the next step.
Disagreement is inevitable and in his well-flagged speech yesterday British prime minister David Cameron revealed the depth of his — and especially his party’s — ambition to review the terms of Britain’s membership of the EU. He called for the UK to be exempted from the community’s founding and consistent principle: Evolution towards an ever-closer union. He confirmed plans, should his party be re-elected, to offer Britain an in/out choice but said he would campaign with all his “heart and soul” for Britain to remain a full EU member if terms were renegotiated to allay Britain’s fears about ceding ever more power to Brussels.As statements of intent go it’s a pretty dramatic, high-wire position-cum-ultimatum but as even a preliminary set of proposals remain absolutely remote it is difficult to deal with it in anything but the vaguest and most conditional terms. All of which are predicated on the reality that the incorrigibly euro-sceptic Tories, even at the height of their Regency self-assurance, are unlikely to convince the British people to ignore virtually every trade union, virtually every business organisation, the Labour Party, and a considerable rump of their own party and reject Europe.
From a selfish Irish perspective it’s difficult to imagine that a British withdrawal from the EU would be, as Taoiseach Enda Kenny recently described it, anything other than catastrophic. Our ties, commercially, socially, and historically, run far too deep to make it impossible to view such a possibility in any other way.
One of the great achievements of the EU is that it has diluted the fevered, aggressive kind of nationalism that for centuries provoked one war after another, so it is ironic that Britain’s withdrawal would have implications for the prospect of a united Ireland and indeed an independent Scotland. Restricted access to British markets for goods and people would, if that is possible, be more than catastrophic for this economy.
The timing of the declaration will create unwelcome uncertainty, a point already made by Mr Cameron’s coalition partner, Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg. And though the majority of European leaders resp-onded with barely concealed frustration to Mr Cameron’s broadside and said there can be no such thing as an à la carte EU, there must be some merit in a reappraisal of the Brussels juggernaut’s reach and the democratic deficit that has developed, especially to the disadvantage of smaller member states. As we await a deal on bank debt incurred by trying to be good Europeans, it is easy to be disenchanted by how powerless, how ensnared we now seem. Equally, any debate provoked by Mr Cameron’s banderillas is be a welcome step towards counter-balancing the growing if not complete Franco-German domination of the union.
It will be interesting to see how Britain’s concerns are accommodated but the reality remains that it would be a tragedy for Europe and for Britain, and especially for Ireland, if Britain chooses to isolate itself.