Bread and circuses will be all we have left

A third of the electorate vote at the children’s rights referendum — and only 60% of those in favour — and our Taoiseach and his buddies behave as if all our troubles are over.

Can you imagine what would happen if they did actually achieve something of note that we could all support? So rather than keeping its proverbial mouth shut, the Government decides it’s time we had a referendum on same-sex marriage. We go from what should have been a “slam-dunk” win where the referendum subject was close to proverbial “motherhood and apple pie” that everybody could vote for, to one that will be seriously divisive. It’s surreal.

If we ever needed a clear signal that the Government is in serious trouble and has lost its bearings, we have just been handed it on a plate. That old saying, “it’s hard to remember that your original intention was to drain the swamp when you’re up to your neck in crocodiles”, holds true.