There have been many ups and downs on the rollercoaster of this pandemic. Sometimes Ireland has scored poorly, for example, along with much of the EU were slow to roll out vaccines. We also endured a huge curtailment of civil liberties with more days of lockdown than any other jurisdiction. But, on the positive side, we consistently scored highest in Europe on the survival rates from ICU. Ho... read more>

At the weekend, a Belarusian MiG-29 fighter forced a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk where some of the passengers were detained by local authorities for purely political reasons. These authorities falsely claimed there was a bomb on board. The European Commission has called it outrageous and illegal. Our Taoiseach has said the act is completely unacceptable and called o... read more>

Last week the HSE and the Department of Health IT systems were hacked by a criminal gang demanding that a ransom be paid. They threatened to release the country’s medical records to the internet and continue to deny the HSE access to its own systems. Aside from the threat to all our privacy, for those who are currently undergoing any type of treatment, their health and potentially lives are bei... read more>

As the lockdown comes to an end and stores reopen, many of us will be looking to get out and treat ourselves. 62% of households say they have saved money during the pandemic. As a nation, we were saving €2 billion extra per month during the lockdown. These savings were made because our pattern of expenditures changed; not travelling to work or on holidays, not going out for entertainment and ea... read more>

At OneBigSwitch we work hard to get better prices on household bills for homeowners and householders. We, like many other businesses in Ireland, depend on the next generation of citizens being able to buy or rent a home. Therefore, we get worried when we see our housing crisis getting worse. Housing crises are not unique to Ireland, many countries have them. The causes are complex and varied... read more>