Voters want income tax cuts rather than Vat reduction for hospitality in Budget 2026, poll shows
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Irish Post
a day ago
- Irish Post
Irish public do not approve of a Trump state visit, poll finds
A NEW opinion poll shows that a majority of the Irish public does not support the idea of inviting Donald Trump for a state visit to Ireland. According to research conducted by Ireland Thinks for the Irish Independent, 74% of respondents said they were against such an invitation. Just 20% were in favour, while 6% expressed no opinion. Participants were asked whether the Irish government should officially invite Trump for a formal visit. Trump was recently in Scotland, where he played golf and met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to finalise a trade agreement. During his presidency, he also made private visits to his golf property in Doonbeg, County Clare, and met with then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Shannon Airport during a brief stopover in 2019. He spent a night at his resort in Doonbeg on that occasion. The Irish public's perception of Trump stands in stark contrast to the warm welcomes historically given to previous US presidents. In 1995, Bill Clinton drew a crowd of 80,000 in Dublin's College Green. A similar reception greeted Barack Obama in the same location during his 2011 visit. Former President Obama and his wife, Michelle, have now been invited by Dublin's current Lord Mayor, Ray McAdam, to formally accept the Freedom of the City next month. The invitation includes a ceremonial reception at the Mansion House. In his letter to the Obamas, Mayor McAdam praised the former president's leadership during a turbulent period in American history, noting his "dignified and hopeful" approach to governance that inspired many globally, including in Ireland. See More: Donald Trump, Irish State Visit
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
CMAT at All Together Now: Singer performs politically charged single name-checking ‘All the Berties'
The song is particularly poignant given its political context: 'it's about the financial crash and the fallout the country is still feeling the marks of today. 'I don't think of myself as a political songwriter, ' Thompson said to the thousands of festival attendees gathered in front of the main stage, but there are things the artist stands for, and she's not afraid to champion them. On the 'agenda' for the evening: trans rights (with a t-shirt on sale that will have its proceeds donated to Teni) and 'as always, Free Palestine' as she led the crowd into 'free free Palestine' chants. But the debut of Euro-Country is no afterthought. The performance came on the same day that Bertie Ahern emerged as the preferred Fianna Fáil candidate in the presidential election in November. The Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll showed 12pc of people believe that the former Taoiseach should be a contender to replace Michael D Higgins in the Áras. 'I'm so sorry that this has struck a chord with so many of you,' the Dunboyne native said to a heaving main stage crowd. She launched into the song, which includes lyrics that reference the former Taoiseach: 'All the big boys/ All the Berties/ All the envelopes, yeah they hurt me/I was 12 when the das started killing themselves all around me.' There were more cases of suicide during the bust period, according to the National Suicide Research Foundation, who cite 476 more male suicides than had there not been a recession. Thompson also makes a call back to the lack of public infrastructure and perpetual struggle with access to housing among those in their twenties and thirties: 'And it was normal/Building houses/They stay empty even now.' 'Nobody I grew up with basically lives here anymore, everyone has had to emigrate. Nobody can afford to live here, everybody is leaving home. And everyone who is left behind is left with less and less public services, healthcare and security in everything that you need to live a life not in danger,' said Thompson. 'I believe this is directly the fault of the Irish government that we had 20 - 25 years ago. And I can't explain to you the politic [sic] of what happened back then, I can only explain to you my memories of growing up as a kid during the crash that we all experienced, and it was a horrible, horrible time for the entire country.' 'I believe that people in their 20s and 30s have been really adversely affected by it. And the personal, emotional effects of it are something that I am interested in as a songwriter, because I think that we can learn from it.' 'All of that is to say, we've never performed this song live before, and I wanted to debut it here because I thought it was important.' When all was said and done, there was one more track to enjoy. 'I was wondering if after all that trauma you wouldn't mind doing me one more favour' she quipped, as she introduced Stay For Something, and gave the audience a melody to sing back. The crowd dutifully channelled a shared grief into a stirring rendition before lights out.
Agriland
2 days ago
- Agriland
Irish Grain Growers Group Meets Minister Heydon on Budget 2026
Representatives of the Irish Grain Growers' Group (IGGG) met recently with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon to discuss the stakeholder organisation's priorities for Budget 2026. An IGGG spokesperson told Agriland: 'We had a very positive engagement with the minister and his officials. 'This was particularly the case where our proposals to secure future tax amendments for tillage sector are concerned. 'A follow-up meeting on these matters involving department of agriculture officials and IGGG representatives will take place over the coming weeks." The spokesperson added: 'There is general agreement that the tillage sector can play a key role in delivering higher levels of sustainability across Irish agriculture as a whole. And this must be fully reflected in government policy.' IGGG's leadership team will be lobbying strongly over the coming weeks and months on the issues of Budget 2026 and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) review proposals, recently published by the European Commission in Brussels. 'The CAP review will be of deep concern to every tillage farmer in Ireland,' the IGGG representative continued. 'The proposals on the table are totally unacceptable." The spokesperson said that If the proposals are implemented, they will "further reduce the core support funding levels available to the crops' sector". 'It really is a case of 'here we go again'. This is the third consecutive review of the CAP that will act to suck funding away from tillage. 'It started with the decision to introduce a process of conversion within the basic payment model at the CAP review before last. "And what's on the table now is a continuation of this process. This is totally unacceptable.' Meanwhile, Harvest 2025 continues apace. This week will see tillage farmers continue with the cutting of winter oats and oilseed rape crops with winter wheat and spring cereals to follow. IGGG is confirming that harvest 2025 yields should be in line a five-year average figure. Straw - certainly where winter cereals are concerned - is of high quality with regular customers doing deals similar to last season. Yield of straw in spring barley looks like, at this point, will be back on last year's levels. There is also the prospect of early-sown spring barley crops being harvested this week . However, a key issue – specifically with regard to the prospects for malting barley - has arisen. According to the IGGG representative: 'It has been made known to us that some merchants with ties to Boortmalt have placed a quota of 1.9t/ac on the malting barley intakes they will accept this year. 'This is irrespective of what quantities of barley delivered actually meet the malting criteria. So, in cases, let's say, where growers are achieving certified barley yields of 3t/ac, this means that 1.1t will be sent for feed. It's a totally unacceptable situation. 'Tirlán and Dairygold have stated that malting barley contracts will not be cut for the 2025 season.'
