Last week French President Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for more co-ordinated European Defence Force initiatives. At first glance this may seem to be of little relevance to the Irish householder who has enough problems to be dealing with. Until we reflect on the changing nature of warfare. The days of boots-on-the-ground invasions of countries like Afghan... read more>

Last week the water quality of 180,000 householders in Dublin and Wexford was compromised when two water treatment plants failed. 52 people became ill and sought treatment. Over the last years we have seen regular ‘boil water notices’ in many parts of the country due to biological contaminants. In addition a number of beaches and swimming spots were closed over the summer as raw sewage is poure... read more>

Energy prices in Europe are going up and Ireland is no exception. Irish electricity suppliers have announced price increases. In July, the ESB announced a 9% price increase and many other suppliers have followed. What is happening and what can you do about it? There are a few factors playing into the increase in prices. Over the last couple of weeks Europe, including Ireland, has had excepti... read more>

The pandemic is coming to an end, everything is opening up and the corona virus is becoming endemic in the community, like the common cold or flu. How many lives did we save through the actions taken by Government and by individual citizens changing their behaviour? How much did the pandemic cost us? From a purely economic perspective, did we do a good job? Let’s look at the number of lives ... read more>

Last week marked a tragic increase in swimming deaths in Ireland’s seas and lakes. While many of us are still focused on covid restrictions, delta variants and hospital beds, the rate of swimming deaths in Ireland this week was seven times the rate of covid deaths. There were 148 road fatalities in Ireland in 2020 but an almost equivalent 124 drownings in Irish waters. 76% of drownings are m... read more>