Martin’s tough guy approach to public workers may yet backfire

IT’S surprising that a scholar of early 20th century Irish history such as Foreign Minster Micheál Martin has not learnt the lesson of Easter 1916 – when an opponent is defeated, savour your victory, rather than try to humiliate them.

By Tuesday, the Fianna Fáil minster’s department had pushed the Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU) into an embarrassing climb-down in the industrial dispute at the Dublin passport office.

This came after a public panic about securing passports developed over the weekend.