Patrick Bresnihan

O'Gorman says Green tide rising at annual conference Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman said the Green tide was rising again, pointing to the recent by-election win for Hannah Spencer in the Manchester constituency of Gordon and Denton which he said me...

She won on a socialist, anti-racist and working class platform. Irish Greens have a long way to go.

'Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman said the Green tide was rising again, pointing to the recent by-election win for Hannah Spencer in Manchester.'

www.rte.ie/news/politic...

To make a statement about the illegal bombing of Iran by the US and Israel without mentioning that fact is tantamount to condoning it.

Dublin City Council - Save Irish Neutrality I just emailed local Dublin City Coucillors and demanded that they vote in favour of Irish Neutrality. Can you do the same?

On Monday, Dublin City Council will vote on a motion to keep the Triple Lock and preserve Irish neutrality. They will hopefully join the 12 other councils that have supported the same motion.

Email local councillors using the template at this link.

action.uplift.ie/campaigns/dc...

Nearly 320,000 unable to pay electricity bill in December The number of people unable to pay their electricity bills rose to almost 320,000 in December last year, an increase of just over 20% on the previous year.

Rising energy bills & yesterday's warning about "a potentially challenging situation" in meeting electricity demand.

We need a moratorium on data centres, a planned public retrofit programme and not for profit, socially owned energy generation.

www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

Record arms purchase involves member of lobbying group It's a member of an Irish lobbying group that previously refused to publicly disclose its membership.

We shouldn't be surprised about the record arms deal with French company KNDS for hundreds of armoured vehicles.

This is what happens when the IDSA, an arms lobby group representing members like KNDS, has direct access to Govnt & the Defence Forces.

www.ontheditch.com/up-to-eu800-...

New €1m Government meeting room will protect communications with world leaders, says Martin Facility to be approved to provide ‘Nato proof’ space for discussions with foreign governments

This Government hates Ireland's tradition of neutrality.

'“Nato proof” is an informal term used to describe the security requirements against passive and active “eavesdropping” for rooms where Nato classified information is discussed.'

www.irishtimes.com/politics/oir...

Myself and colleagues have written about this as the 'militarisation of FDI' - where FDI-linked infrastructures (data centres, cables, energy) and resources (critical minerals) become basis for increased defence spending and EU/NATO integration.

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Ireland's new Maritime Security Strategy orientates around the need to better protect critical undersea infrastructure - much of it owned by tech corporations and/or critical for FDI. This is not the same as protecting civilian populations or essential infrastructures. 1/2

US pressures Vanuatu at UN over ICJ’s landmark climate change ruling A cable seen by Al Jazeera says the US 'strongly objects' to the island nation seeking support for the ICJ's ruling.

Rather than turning their back on the UN (e.g. removing the Triple Lock), the Irish Govnt should be far more active in supporting countries from the majority world that continue to fight for global justice via international institutions.

Like Vanuatu.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/...

Year of the French part II: military co-operation with Paris makes sense for Government Acquisition of long-range Caesar howitzer among deals made with France in face of increasing global threats

I get that there is journalistic license but the jingoism that surrounds media coverage of defence and security matters is something else.

Connecting the purchase of €2bn worth of French military equipment with 1798?

www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

Ireland to buy hundreds of French armoured vehicles under military modernisation plan Move will significantly expand capabilities of Irish Army to conduct on-island defence

Up to €1 billion to be spent on hundreds of armoured vehicles from French arms companies Thales and KNDS. This to defend us in the event of a land invasion.

Who is going to mount a land invasion of Ireland? Are we not being told something?

www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

Eamon Ryan: Why Dún Laoghaire should have a full naval base Sensitive fibre optic cables and gas pipelines are concentrated in the Irish Sea. We need to have a vessel patrolling the area immediately

More 'serious' commentary on Ireland's defence and security. 'Play station sailors'.

'The new strategy could bring a new band of “play station sailors” to join the Naval Service.'

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

Is Ireland drifting from neutrality amid Europe’s €381bn rearmament drive? As Europe embarks on historic military expansion, Ireland faces mounting pressure to reconsider neutrality and defence spending priorities

‘For Ireland, neutrality has long been a refusal to inherit great-power enemies.

But the language of threat is now arriving as if it were an import, packaged with policy papers, procurement plans, and alliance expectations.’

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm... @pbresnihan.bsky.social

Defence spending: Push to increase spending aimed at FDI interests International pressure is being applied on Ireland to arm up — and our heavily dependent economy means gunboat diplomacy isn't even required

Pat Brodie, Rory Rowan and myself make the argument here (and in a longer research paper if anyone is interested).

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Why is the Dept of Enterprise (not defence) meeting with a lobby group representing the arms industry?

Because our defence and security policy is inseparable from an economic model that is dependent on Foreign Direct Investment 1/2

One of the headline objectives of this strategy is to digitalise 100% of public services, 'with 90% of services consumed online by 2030'.

The idea of 'consuming public services online' is dystopian and the Government have no idea what it is doing.

This is the FF Minister of Defence in 2002, on the eve of the second Nice Referendum.

25 years later and a FF-led Govnt is pushing to remove their Triple Lock guarantee as we move ever closer to a common EU army.

The only ones distorting the facts are FF and FG.

Ireland’s New Digital & AI Strategy: Connecting Our People, Securing Our Future Today marks an important milestone with the publication of Ireland’s new Digital & AI Strategy, Connecting Our People, Securing Our Future. This strategy sets out a clear and confident ambition…

Ireland's AI Strategy was launched yesterday with the tagline: 'A strategy rooted in trust'.

Trust that we will continue to enable US big tech through energy & water intensive data centres, while creating markets for new AI applications.

aiireland.ie/2026/02/19/i...

Freedom for Yağmur, Cemre, Cemil, and Pınar! As the organizations signing this call, we demand the release of Yağmur, Cemil, Cemre, Pınar, and all socialists!Long live international solidarity!

Solidarity with the dozens of political activists, union organisers, human rights defenders and ecologists arrested earlier this month across Turkey.

Learn more, sign the petition and spread the word.

@polenekoloji.bsky.social

www.polenekoloji.org/freedom-for-...

At least a third of hot school meals don't meet basic nutritional standards, Minister says Dara Calleary raised concerns over the availability of fruit and vegetables.

Imagine a world where free school meals were provided through state supported, locally owned social enterprises, providing good jobs, nutritious food and supporting local growers and food supply chains. A real just transition with food sovereignty at its heart.

www.thejournal.ie/hot-school-m...

Three multinationals paying 46% of Corporation Tax - IFAC The State's fiscal watchdog has estimated that almost half of the Corporation Tax collected by the State is paid by three multinational companies.

Just two US tech companies, Apple and Microsoft, represent 10% of total tax take in Ireland.

Not many countries are as economically dependent on the US as Ireland, which of course has significant political implications.

www.rte.ie/news/busines...

This is from an @IrishTimes editorial in 2002, urging readers to vote for Nice 2. They emphasise that the 'Triple Lock' not only protects our sovereignty but also our neutrality.

If only they, and other supporters of Nice 2, would be consistent in their positions.

EU countries sell critical energy infrastructure to Trump-aligned fossil fuel giant - SOMO Trump's policy agenda strongly supports the interests of fossil fuel energy companies, increasingly gaining influence over European policy.

US corporation, Energy Transfer, bought Whiddy Island oil terminal in 2024. Whiddy holds a significant store of our oil reserves.

Talk of a 'transatlantic rift' always misses the material forces at play - in this case, energy.

www.somo.nl/eu-countries...

Just to be clear, €60bn of this package will be spent on weapons - this is an investment to prolong the war, not to advance a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Stop a Canadian corporation harvesting huge forests of seaweed from the west coast There should be a public consultation on this plan opening soon but lets gather signatures to demonstrate the fact that up and down the west coast, thousands of people don't want our seaweed rights gi...

This may seem small in the grander scheme of things but the campaign to stop the corporate enclosure of seaweed along the West coast has been going on for years. There is so much potential to harvest and use seaweed for local jobs and development.

my.uplift.ie/petitions/st...

This semester's MA class will focus on 50 years of campaigning, education and advocacy work by Afri.

From the anti-colonial reclaiming of An Gorta Mór to internationalist solidarity and anti-militarism, they have kept a flame alive in Ireland.

afri.ie

Cuba: UN warns of possible humanitarian ‘collapse’, as oil supplies dwindle The UN on Wednesday warned of potential humanitarian “collapse” in Cuba, following Washington’s attempt to block oil supplies from reaching the island.

No mention anywhere in the Irish news of Cuba. This despite the UN warning of a humanitarian “collapse”, as the US blocks oil supplies from reaching the island.

This is warfare on a sovereign country, how is it not worthy of reporting?

@news.rte.ie

news.un.org/en/story/202...

For more context, read Rory Rowan and @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social. They quote FF Wexford councillor Joe Sullivan who voted for the motion.

“This isn’t about politics, but about principle…I believe in doing what’s right, not just what’s expected by the party.”

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Yesterday Galway and Clare Councils joined 9 other councils across Ireland in passing a motion calling on the Govnt to retain the Triple Lock. That FG & FF councillors are voting with their conscience to support these motions tells you a lot about the Govnt's cycnism and lack of mandate.

Proposal to end Dublin Airport passenger cap approved The Cabinet has approved drafting the required legislation to end the passenger cap at Dublin Airport.

In 6 weeks, Minister O'Brien has fast-tracked LNG infrastructure, lifted the moratorium on data centres and the Dublin Airport passenger cap. All under the banner of 'strategic infrastructure'.

Irresponsible moves that lock us into climate havoc and US dependency.

www.rte.ie/news/politic...