His centrist government partners, the Fianna Fáil party led by Foreign Minister Micheál Martin also hopes to claim top spot and, with it, first dibs on the taoiseach’s chair. Even before Harris made his announcement, the 64-year-old Martin was already pressing the flesh with voters at a nearby Dublin crossroads. Reflecting how well his party … Read more
Cash for kids Income tax bands will be raised sharply to prune €1.6 billion from payslip deductions, particularly for workers earning less than €44,000 a year, in a system that already taxes lower-paid workers little by international norms. Chambers said the changes would mean workers earning less than €20,000 would pay no income tax at … Read more
Instead, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil resurrected their fortunes with virtually identical 23 percent shares of first preference votes, both better than expected — while Sinn Féin slumped to below 12 percent. Independents, among them a babel of new anti-immigrant voices alongside established rural mavericks, topped a staggering 21 percent. Some Sinn Féin activists bluntly … Read more
