Irish Examiner view: Satire dead as Trump makes peace

A heavily damaged building stands in a residential area a day after a direct missile strike, launched from Iran, following the announcement of a ceasefire, in Beersheba, Israel, on Wednesday Picture: Ariel Schalit/AP

The ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding at the time of writing, though the swiftness of unfolding events in the Middle East has often made a mockery of presumption in the past.

The two nations’ exchange of missiles was a worrying escalation in a region not short of hair-trigger tempers, so we should not belittle anyone who is seeking to calm the situation. 

The performance of US president Donald Trump in these circumstances, however, bears closer inspection.

Many readers will be familiar by now with the clip of Mr Trump using bad language in describing Israel and Iran; it is a soundbite that will probably play well with his base, and he may plausibly justify his choice of words while portraying himself as a peacemaker.

That was surely part of the motivation for his outspokenness, particularly as it came before his trip to the annual meeting of Nato this week in Holland.

Depicting himself as a peace broker would surely have bolstered Mr Trump’s authority with his Nato allies, particularly as he is keen to get those allies contributing more to Nato’s running costs.

That authority was undermined by American intelligence reports suggesting the recent US missile attack on Iran did not obliterate that country’s nuclear capability, as claimed, but merely set it back by a few months (reports Mr Trump immediately contradicted). 

It may not be coincidental that this week, Nato countries have accepted the need to contribute more revenue — but some at least have avoided being bound to Mr Trump’s spending targets.

This last development may have real-world implications in the future, but for now we are still processing extraordinary scenes: The US president cursing about other countries on air, and rubbishing his own intelligence services’ findings, would have fuelled a month’s worth of headlines at any other time.

This week those stories were outdone by a US politician nominating Mr Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize because of the Iran-Israel ceasefire.

When Henry Kissinger was nominated for that award, comedian Tom Lehrer declared satire dead. 

This week we learned that it is not dead but decomposing.

Concrete supply: Infrastructure woes continue

It is widely accepted that one of the great challenges of modern Irish life is the pressure on our national infrastructure.

Energy is an obvious concern, not just because of our fragile energy security due to our location, but also due to the vast amounts of electricity consumed by data centres. 

Water supply is another ongoing headache, not least because of the various travails of Uisce Éireann ever since that body was founded.

Now, we have learned that another key element in creating and maintaining large-scale infrastructure is in trouble.

Engineering consultancy firm RPS carried out a study for the Irish Concrete Federation, which found replenishment rates of quarries are inadequate — currently they are running at 61% of the annual consumption.

The study also found that planning permission was refused for over half of the volume of proposed extraction of sand, stone, and gravel in greater Dublin between 2017 and last year — while there have also been delays in obtaining planning permission to extend quarries or get permission for new sites.

One does not need to be a civil engineer to realise that if supplies of sand, stone, and gravel dwindle, then there are obvious implications for our building capacity. 

It is notable that the lack of planning permissions is a key issue here, thus echoing the comments of the ESRI’s Seán O’Driscoll in these pages recently. 

He pointed out then that the Government needed to accept that there was a “national crisis in Irish infrastructure” if progress was to be achieved, and this study adds weight to that claim.

Unfortunately, the response from the current administration does not seem to acknowledge that crisis. 

The Government will engage with the concrete industry about their concerns, according to housing minister James Browne, but he added that the independent planning system also has to take its “natural course”.

The various shambles we have witnessed in our planning system over the years do not depict that “natural course” in a flattering light. 

The “business as usual” approach on show here is the last response needed for a national crisis.

Glastonbury festival: Kneecap drama

The Glastonbury festival opened yesterday, with thousands of fans pouring into the venue to see their favourite musicians.

This year there is an edge of controversy in the presence of Belfast band Kneecap; band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh faces a terrorism charge for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London show last year.

British prime minister Keir Starmer said this week that it is not “appropriate” for the band to perform at Glastonbury, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said the BBC — which normally broadcasts many of the acts at the festival — should not show Kneecap’s performance.

Belfast band Kneecap.

It was not clear at press time whether the BBC would show the Belfast band or wait until nearer the time to make a decision — Kneecap are due to play on Saturday.

It is not for us to wonder that an experienced lawyer such as Mr Starmer should be expressing opinions which might be prejudicial to Mr Ó hAnnaidh’s case. 

But we are hardly the only people who feel that British politicians surely have better things to do than complain about Kneecap.