Mark Lynch

Dad, Husband, Chartered Accountant, Business Owner

[Daniel Mulhall @DanMulhall]

Each member State takes on the Presidency in rotation. It’s part of the cost of being a member of the EU, which has conferred huge benefit on Ireland. It’s not something that we can pass up while remaining an EU member.

[John O’Brennan @JohnOBrennan2]

48% of people polled believe that Ireland should be part of increased EU defence and security cooperation. That is *much higher* than the peace and love and neutrality brigade would have you believe. People understand that we should not remain the ‘ostrich of Europe’ on defence.

[Napaleo @newpeteV1]

64,000 families have purchased a home using Help to Buy.

Nearly 2BN of people's income taxes that was refunded to help them fulfil their dream of homeownership.

Same scheme that @sinnfeinireland wants to abolish.

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

Chairman of EU Military Committee, Gen. Clancy:

Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security. This is not message of solidarity, but statement of reality.

EU mobilized over €130 billion in military, financial, humanitarian, economic assistance, making it largest supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

As I speak, another support package of €90 billion for Ukraine has been finalized.

Another key element of EU’s support is EU Military Assistance Mission. It has already trained more than 90,000 Ukrainian soldiers, significantly strengthening their effectiveness on the battlefield.

[Ed Fidgeon-Kavanagh @Clearpreso]

We're one of the EU's safest, actually

[David W. Higgins @higginsdavidw]

Urban Vs rural debate. Don't fall for the Dublin trap. Cork is the bigger urban driver of economic activity. Pharma and Apple. Massive corporation tax revenue.

We're all subsidised by Cork.

[Dan O'Brien @danobrien20]

Why this chart is wrong.

Five metrics are used to measure 'infrastructure and public services', as per the first image, which shows Ireland to be a total outlier.

Start with public capital spending as share of total govt expenditure. (Unfortunately) rich world governments spend only single digit percentages of total government expenditure on capital spending. As it happens, Ireland has the highest share in western Europe. The actual Eurostat data are charted in the second image.

What about doctor density? Unlike public expenditure, where I'd claim some expertise, I'm certainly not an expert in health economics. But I've spent enough time looking at the numbers over the years to know that Ireland is not an outlier in the number of doctors it has relative population. Even the OECD healthcare at a glance report that is referenced as a source shows that. The table from the report is the third image.

Finally, Ireland has almost no electrified rail. These figures seem correct, but is the energy source of your rail system indicative of the quality of overall infrastructure? I'd argue no, but that's a judgement call.

So, two of the five metrics are completely wrong and the inclusion of a third (which happens to show Ireland by far the worst performer in west Europe) is questionable.

[NewstalkFM @NewstalkFM]

A consultant oncologist has said he wants fuel protestors to understand the stress they are causing cancer patients who are missing or delaying medical appointments.

https://t.co/jhlk62dKzH

[Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler]

Intel to buy back the 49pc of the Fab 34 plant it sold to US private equity firm Apollo in 2024.
It will pay $14.2bn, a $3bn premium on the $11.2bn it sold it for in 2024.

Will be seen as a vote of confidence in Leixlip operation and its 4,900 workers.
https://t.co/IqaoTfmfht

[Daniel Mulhall @DanMulhall]

This must be one of the most demanding athletics disciplines, having to excel at five very different events. Well done to Kate O’Connor @irishathletics. 👇

[Brett Bruen @BrettBruen]

St Patrick’s Day is a good day to remind Americans that the Irish - despite being a country of only 5.2 million - now invest more here than any other country…

Thanks for the great write up,
@mchalfant16

[Elisa Mosini 🇪🇺🇮🇹 @MosiniElisa]

In all the tragedy happening in the world, there are moments that make me genuinely happy.

An Irish PM defending the British PM from attacks by the US President, and then turning to show solidarity with Ukraine.
This is European solidarity at its finest.
Honor to the Irish 🇮🇪.

[Daniel Mulhall @DanMulhall]

‘There’s something missing from Ireland’s debates on foreign policy: our interests’

I agree wholeheartedly with @PatLeahyIT’s analysis. “So Martin will tread carefully through the Washington minefield, seeking to ensure Trump understands that Ireland is a friend, while reserving the right to differ on some issues. That will be difficult to execute, & unpopular in some quarters. But it is probably what is required of anyone who sits in the office of the taoiseach.”

https://t.co/GSJspw6xyj

[Seán Keyes @Keyes]

New Danish neighbourhoods win praise for their ambition and the quality of their design. One of them, Nordhavn, will accommodate 40,000 residents and workers on a peninsula north of Copenhagen.

But one of the Danes' big housing innovations is under the hood…

[Murray Kinsella @Murray_Kinsella]

James Lowe, Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park, and Dan Sheehan are the Irish players in Midi Olympique's team of the weekend from round one of the Six Nations.

[Seán O'Neill McPartlin @o_mcpartlin]

To be successful, the incoming government must be aggressive with its housing policy

We at @ProgressIreland have been writing about our plan to boost housing supply

Here is a quick rundown of four quick wins for the next government 🧵

[Port of Cork @PortofCork]

Nice to see a pod of common dolphins 🐬 enjoying Cork harbour today before #StormEowyn arrives.

[Carlow Weather @CarlowWeather]

That high resolution AROME model out to 9am shows gusts I’ve never seen this model show before for Ireland and this model is one of the best there is for Ireland. Anyone saying this is just another storm is in for a rude awakening. This will be an historic storm. #StormÉowyn

[Irish Times Business @IrishTimesBiz]

DAA pitches Cork-New York flights to Aer Lingus https://t.co/Fg8pd1QAD9

[Dan O'Brien @danobrien20]

Fellow small EU countries - Finland and Estonia - being harassed and bullied by Russia is one of the biggest stories in Europe. Directly relevant to Ireland owing to threats to cables, connectors and gas pipeline.