SIPO completed Troy report five weeks before general election

Make a one-time donation to The Ditch SIPO completed an investigation into Robert Troy – which found the ex-junior minister's failure to declare properties was a "serious matter" – five weeks before the general election but only published its findings yesterday. The Ditch asked SIPO – which usually publishes

Withheld documents show Housing Agency official asked engineers to consider downgrade

A senior Housing Agency official suggested engineers downgrade a grant recommendation for a defective Donegal home – after withholding a report that showed severe pyrrhotite damage to the home that would have warranted the highest level of redress available.

Comment: Why the Labour Party doesn’t understand Gerry Hutch

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, wrote Upton Sinclair, when his salary depends on his not understanding it. No surprise that the Labour Party leader doesn’t get why so many people in Dublin’s north inner city voted for a certain general election candidate.

Central Bank: We can’t stop selling Israeli bonds

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has claimed it doesn’t have the authority to stop facilitating Israeli bond sales – but failed to consider the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) January ruling that Israel may be committing genocide in Gaza.

Irish airspace: a critical hub for illegal transport of US government munitions

The US government uses Irish territory as a critical hub for its illegal transport of munitions to the Israel Defense Forces and Nato member states. 

Comment: Don’t indulge analysis that doesn’t acknowledge the establishment’s demise

History (What’s up with that?) - M.I.A. 

Comment: Another Ireland – one not led by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil – is possible

Fine Gael tells us it’s found "a new energy".

Housing Agency ignored pyrrhotite evidence in defective home grant assessment – recommended cheaper repairs

Senior Housing Agency officials withheld evidence of damage to a Donegal home affected by the defective block crisis when consulting with an engineer who would recommend the homeowner's ultimate grant. 

Attorney general forced to stress DPP is 'strictly independent' after ministers criticised Hutch trial

The attorney general – in private correspondence – was forced to remind government of the “strictly independent” nature of the DPP’s work after senior ministers claimed her office was "no longer fit for purpose".

Fine Gael candidate helped secure rezone for friend, co-director

Justice minister Helen McEntee’s running mate councillor Sharon Tolan proposed a successful motion to rezone land at risk of flooding owned by a friend and former company co-director.

Aontú candidate objected to social housing because it would devalue local properties

A general election candidate for Aontú – which criticises government for its failure "to increase social and affordable housing" – objected to a social housing development near her home because she believed it would devalue her own property.

Fine Gael candidate secured rezoning after developer paid residents' association

Justice minister Helen McEntee’s Fine Gael running mate Sharon Tolan won’t comment on allegations she made disputed claims to rezone land from tourism to residential – after she negotiated a payment from the developer to her own housing estate’s residents’ association.