Why should ordinary people have to pay more for Britain’s ineptitude? – The Irish News view.
Chancellor’s budget will do nothing to ease pressure on many squeezed household incomes.
Rachel Reeves delivers her Budget in the House of Commons
By The Irish News
November 27, 2025 at 6:00am GMT
First, the good news. The Conservative government’s cruel decision almost a decade ago to limit some benefit entitlements to the first two children in a family is being scrapped.
The change will have a particularly big impact in Northern Ireland, where around one in five families have more than two children.
Campaigners say it could be transformative in tackling rising levels of child poverty. In fact, in a single budget announcement, the Labour government has probably achieved more than the entire contents of Stormont’s widely-criticised anti-poverty strategy.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves also said the Northern Ireland Executive would be given an additional £370m in block funding over the next three to four years.
This will certainly be welcomed but only go so far – ministers say they face a shortfall of at least £400m this year.
A small increase in the minimum wage will also mean a deserved pay rise for many workers.
But it was about there the good news ended, in what will be remembered as one of the most chaotic budgets in recent history.
Every family is acutely aware that the cost of living has risen sharply – it can be felt every time we visit a shop or pay for other services.
And the decision to freeze income tax and national insurance thresholds for a further three years will only further squeeze household incomes.
The number of taxpayers in Northern Ireland paying the 40% rate has already doubled in recent years and will now rise further – the very definition of a ‘stealth tax’.
The chancellor’s admission that she is asking “ordinary people to pay a little bit more” might be more convincing if the tax burden was not at its highest level in decades. People here will not even benefit from savings on energy or prescriptions in England.
A wide range of other taxes were also announced, targeting everyone from latte-drinkers to electric car owners, but conspicuous by its absence was a coherent plan to boost growth in the anemic British economy.
Yet again, the elephant at Westminster was the catastrophic impact of the UK’s kamikaze decision to turn its back on its biggest trading market.
Until Brexit is reversed, and with Stormont clearly unwilling or incapable of taking the tough decisions required for the economy and public services, the voices calling for a fundamental rethink of relationships on these islands will only grow louder.
If you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article and would like to submit a Letter to the Editor to be considered for publication
The Ancient Order of Hibernians has condemned a report out of London entitled “Peak Ireland? Ireland’s Diplomatic Challenges and the Lessons for the UK.”
The report has been released by the London-based Policy Exchange and includes a foreword by former U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien.
The AOH has labelled the report “a British polemic dressed in borrowed credentials with an American accent, designed to weaken U.S.–Irish relations.”
The report, according to an AOH statement, brands Ireland a “freeloader” that “sat out the fight against fascism,” while ignoring that Ireland aided the Allies through the Donegal Corridor, D-Day weather data from Blacksod Point, and cooperation with MI5 against German agents.
The AOH noted that disagreement is not disloyalty: Ireland’s UN record mirrors many NATO allies.
“The UK’s own recognition of Palestine proves friends can differ; Ireland is entitled to the same freedom — friendship should not be confused with fealty,” stated Neil Cosgrove, the AOH’s National Political Education Chair.
“This is a transparent attempt to undermine Ireland’s ‘special status’ in Washington in favor of the so-called ‘special relationship.'” wrote Cosgrove.
In his foreword to the report O’Brien stated: “Ireland has long enjoyed a privileged status in Washington, DC. This has served Dublin well through challenging times…But in an era in which the United States under President Trump is seeking to put the American interest first, the U.S. relationship with Ireland is coming under unprecedented scrutiny.”
“The Trump administration seeks to bring back jobs and production in critical sectors to the United States. But Ireland, a low-tax haven for international business, has gained a huge advantage for its own economy by offering sweetheart tax deals for American tech and pharmaceutical companies to leave our shores for theirs.”
“All the while, despite its professed neutrality, Ireland pursues an increasingly activist foreign policy that is marked by its divergence from everything the Trump administration stands for, particularly in the Middle East.”
“This Policy Exchange report brings together a wealth of information about the Irish model of economics and foreign policy in a dispassionate and forensic way. It should be required reading for American lawmakers, given the special status that Ireland continues to enjoy on the Hill…For strong believers in the Irish relationship, all is not lost. Importantly, this report shows that a growing number of voices in Ireland are worried about the consequences of such an approach.”
The AOH described the Policy Exchange as a “center-right London think tank with frequent engagement with the UK’s security and defense establishment. Though it is fronted by a foreword from former U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien, this is a UK publication dressed in borrowed American credentials.”
The AOH, in its statement, said it was “deeply disturbed that a publication seeking political traction in London and Washington, fronted by a former presidential advisor, would distort history to cast Ireland as cowardly, unreliable, and disloyal. The foreword claims Ireland ‘sat out the fight against fascism’ and calls it a ‘freeloader.’That is not analysis — it is propaganda posing as analysis, and it disrespects both Ireland’s historical record and its right as a sovereign democracy to chart its own course.
The AOH statement continued: “In 1939, Ireland as a nation was only 17 years old and one of the poorest countries in Europe. It was small and lightly armed: about 41,000 in the regular army at peak and fewer than 300 naval personnel manning a “navy” consisting of a World War I-era British gunboat used for fisheries patrol, a converted steam trawler adapted for minesweeping, and six small motor torpedo boats for coastal defense. The Air Corps had only a handful of obsolete biplanes and no radar.
“Joining the war would have brought bombardment and invasion Ireland could not resist. Neutrality was prudent pragmatism, not moral ambiguity. Yet Ireland still contributed to the Allied war effort, pushing at the boundaries of neutrality— facts Mr. O’Brien conveniently ignores: Donegal Corridor: Neutral Ireland allowed Allied flying boats vital access to the North Atlantic to protect convoys from U-boats (the Lough Erne Catalina that located Bismarck used this route)l Blacksod Point weather: As Europe’s westernmost station, Blacksod provided regular wartime observations that informed Allied Atlantic forecasts and the D-Day timing; Counter-espionage: Irish Military Intelligence (G2) worked with MI5, disrupting German operations and arresting agents such as Hermann Görtz; German airmen and sailors were strictly interned under the Hague Convention; while a benevolent blind eye was turned to Allied ‘escapes.’
“The report’s recycling of the well-worn ‘De Valera Hitler condolences’ chestnut is especially deplorable. It misrepresents a single act of diplomacy by a leader renowned for his fastidiousness in upholding neutrality to the letter, not an expression of sympathy or admiration. That talking point is propaganda by repetition — emotionally charged, historically empty, and meant to distract from Ireland’s quiet cooperation with the Allied cause.
“As a sovereign democracy, Ireland has both the right and a responsibility to its own people to set its own course, even when others may disagree. The attempt to portray Ireland’s United Nations voting record as evidence of disloyalty is misleading; Ireland’s positions have been broadly in line with those of other European democracies, including many NATO members and U.S. allies.
“Not marching in lockstep is not disloyalty — it is the mark of genuine democracy. The UK’s recognition of Palestine, which diverges from U.S. policy, shows that allies can differ on matters of conscience without weakening their friendship. Ireland is entitled to the same freedom; friendship should not be confused with fealty.
“Modern Ireland may be neutral, but it has never been isolationist. Since 2001, over two million U.S. troops have transited Shannon Airport on their way to and from theatres of service, and Irish peacekeepers continue to serve alongside American and allied forces in UN and EU missions worldwide. Ireland’s record is that of a nation committed to peace, partnership, and international responsibility — not of a ‘freeloader.’
“That a UK policy institute should accuse Ireland of “freeloading” when Britain’s own flagship aircraft carrier must embark a U.S. Marine Corps squadron to field a full air complement, and the U.S. Navy must screen it because Royal Navy destroyers spend more time in dry dock than at sea, is the height of hypocrisy.
“The Policy Exchange report substitutes insinuation for evidence. It frames disagreement as disloyalty, cherry-picks history and statistics, and ignores reforms underway in Ireland’s defense forces and economic policy. It omits Ireland’s compliance with the OECD 15 percent global minimum tax, its adoption of the Commission on the Defence Forces plan, and its decades of quiet cooperation with U.S. and British security through Shannon and intelligence channels. It relies on a borrowed American name to give a UK polemic borrowed credibility.
“Peak Ireland? is not a policy analysis — it is a British polemic dressed in borrowed credentials with an American accent, and an ‘O’ thrown in for good measure. Its intent is not to inform but to influence. That is made plain in Mr. O’Brien’s own statement that it ‘should be required reading for American lawmakers, given the special status that Ireland continues to enjoy on the Hill.’
“This is a transparent attempt to undermine Ireland’s ‘special status’ in Washington in favor of the so-called ‘special relationship.'”
‘We had great times up there over the years’ – The Fureys prepare to bid a last farewell with Belfast and Derry gigs.
The revered folk band are retiring after 50 years on the road, writes Robert McMillen.
The Fureys and Davie Arthur were always a feature of musical life from the 60s onwards
By Robert McMillen
November 21, 2025 at 8:53am GMT
Speaking to George Furey of the famed Furey Brothers was a beginning and an end. A beginning in that George was doing an interview using Zoom for the first time, and an end as we were chatting about the last ever gigs the band will be playing in Belfast and in Derry.
They are both places the Fureys (and Davey Arthur) have fond memories of in 49 years of delighting audiences at home and around the world.
There is nothing nicer than a band singing a song, stopping, and letting the audience sing the rest, and the Fureys are masters of that
— Robert McMillen
“We had great times up there over the years,” says George.
“In the early years when we played in the Ulster Hall, which always had a great atmosphere in it – although we once had a fella who was used to performing in pubs in Dublin who was petrified at having audience members sitting on stage behind him!
“He was surrounded and didn’t know what to do,” says George.
There was, of course, no need, as a Fureys gig has all the feeling of a family get-together, band and audience.
There is nothing nicer than a band singing a song, stopping, and letting the audience sing the rest, and the Fureys are masters of that. So it’s no wonder 2026 will see George and the band celebrating their 50th year playing together. But of course, the story goes back to the parents, Ted and Nora. “Ah, they were great people,” George reminisces.
“They were great talkers. So many of the songs that were written for us over the years, particularly the one Phil Coulter wrote for us, The Old Man, are stories about our father and mother when we were growing up.
“I remember many years ago, we were away—1973—I went to Copenhagen with my father and he was playing in this fiddlers’ festival. There were all these fiddle players from Scandinavia and of course my father was invited over, and he asked would I come for company, and I stayed with him for most of my life playing music.”
While Ted Furey was pivotal in his sons’ musical direction, George says he can’t leave his mother out.
“Our mother was born in Tipperary town and she was always humming songs when she was doing the housework in the morning time, and that’s where we got the idea for Sweet Sixteen, because she used to hum it around the house.
“And we were asking her one time, we said, where did you get that song from? And she told this whole story about the man who wrote it, Jimmy Thornton – who also came from Tipperary and who emigrated off to Chicago, where he became a comedian and married his girlfriend Bonnie Thornton.
“And so my mother told us a whole lot. And I remember going into the studios one Sunday afternoon and recording Sweet Sixteen. It only took one take, which goes to show – you always listen to your mammy,” he laughs.
When they were young, there was little time for doing much else but play music, and as kids, they did a lot of busking.
“Our father used to have us at the football matches,” George recalls.
“We used to go to all the football matches and we’d busk. Not only on the train, there and back, but we’d go into the football ground and play.
“I remember in Croke Park, you could walk right around where there was a little place. We used to go over the wall, so we’d have the accordion going over the wall and then me over and my brother Paul, and we’d busk inside!”
When the Furey boys became of age, they went their own ways and, oddly enough, it was a car accident that brought them together.
“Yeah, myself and my brother Paul and Davey Arthur, we had the band called The Buskers. And we used to play an awful lot on the continent all the time. But I remember we were coming down from Hanover, and we were travelling down to Frankfurt, and as we were going along, we stopped at a set of traffic lights when a guy smacked into the back of us.
“Luckily enough, nothing really happened to us, but the news went around that we were all very hurt.
“The one who crashed into the back of us was heading off to see his wife in hospital, where she had just delivered her first child.”
So not only was a child born, but The Fureys and Davey Arthur were also born.
“We always said, if anything is going to happen to us, let us be all together there. At least we can look after each other,” says George.
While the Fureys are best known for their ballads and singalong favorites – I Will Love You, When You Were Sweet 16, Red Rose Café, Leaving Nancy, The Old Man, From Clare to Here – their influence goes way beyond that.
Did you know that legendary indie Radio 1 DJ John Peel made Her Father Didn’t Like Me Anyway – the song written for Eddie Furey by Gerry Rafferty of Baker Street fame – his single of the year in 1973?
Or that Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics has credited Eddie with teaching him his first chords on the guitar while still a teenager?
The band’s musical longevity is down to the fact that you’ll know a Fureys song from the moment you hear the first chord.
“Other bands, like The Dubliners, you knew it was them, and the Clancy Brothers especially were brilliant at what they did, and that’s the way we were – we wanted to do our own thing all the time, and people would identify us by that.
“But not only that, we always put our heart and soul into songs. They mean an awful lot to us and they come from the heart,” says George.
Inevitably, changes have occurred over the years. Their brother Paul died suddenly in June 2002, Finbar left the band in December 1996, and Davey took a stroke in March 2014. However, George and older brother Eddie have continued to delight audiences on their tours and releasing CDs.
But all good things come to an end, although George doesn’t recognise the word “retirement.”
“For me, retirement is giving it up. We were born into the music and I’ll probably end up with the music, that kind of way.”
The Fureys will say farewell to Belfast with their last ever concert in the city at the Waterfront Hall on Friday, January 2, while their final gig in the north will be at the Millennium Forum on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
‘Conversation’ begins about potential removal of Alexandra Park peace wall. Structure dividing the north Belfast park will only be removed with residents’ consent.
The peace wall and gate at Alexandra Park in north Belfast.
By Michael Kenwood November 23, 2025 at 12:44pm GMT
A so-called peace wall that has dissected a north Belfast park for decades could be removed but only if nearby resident’s consent.
A Belfast City Council committee has agreed to a proposal to consult with locals before demolishing the barrier at Alexandra Park.
The wall has stood for more than 30 years, however, one councillor described the area, which last summer was the scene of rioting and ant-social behavior, as a “battleground”.
The park is managed by the council, while the wall belongs to the Department of Justice.
Alexandra Park is due to benefit from £12m investment through the European Peace plus programme that will see the provision of new sports and recreation facilities, as well as improving the connection to the nearby Waterworks.
The original proposal to remove the peace wall was tabled by Alliance representative Sam Nelson, who noted that Stormont’s Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC) strategy had aimed to remove all interface structures by 2023.
A Sinn Féin amendment, forwarded by Councilor Ryan Murphy, that “prioritises concerns of surrounding residents”, was accepted by Alliance.
Mr Nelson told last Friday’s meeting of the strategic policy and resources committee that the wall in Alexandra Park had stood for more than 30 years – “longer than the Berlin Wall stood”.
“The current plans are to re-image the wall but I don’t believe in 2025 we should be giving a facelift to division,” he said.
“It is something we should be showing leadership on, and this is the time to do it.”
Mr Murphy described the wall as “a blight” but said the Peaceplus funds presented an opportunity to have a “conversation” about the wall’s removal.
He said there was also an opportunity to provide much-needed “pitch provision”.
DUP councilor Fred Cobain said he was supportive of removing peace walls but that over recent years Alexandra Park had been a “battleground”.
“As far as I am concerned the most important part is the consultation of those who live in that area, and without their approval, obviously this thing is not going to go anywhere,” he said.
SDLP councilor Carl Whyte claimed the council had no authority to intervene and that responsibility lay with the Department of Justice.
“We would all like to see peace walls removed after engagement with local communities, but I question the decision by Alliance to bring this motion to Belfast City Council – a body with no power to intervene and remove this wall,” he said, indicating that responsibility lay with Alliance Justice Minister Naomi Long.
A Department of Justice (DoJ) spokesperson said officials were working with Belfast City Council and other partners on the redevelopment plans for Alexandra Park, including the potential changes to what was termed “the existing interface structure”.
“Community consent is a crucial consideration as part of any interface reduction or removal scheme,” the DoJ spokesperson said.
“The support and positive engagement of local political representatives is very welcome in helping to lead that conversation.”
According to DoJ, large portions of the wall are “redundant”.
I’ve been invited to speak at mass… but I’m not sure if I can accept it.
Out of nowhere came an invitation to speak at mass
Frank Mitchell
Today at 07:30
I’ve pinned badges on scouts. I’ve placed sashes on winners and rosettes on losers. I’ve picked roses for Tralee and Marys for Dungloe. I’ve switched on lights, cut ribbons, unveiled plaques, abseiled off buildings and walked on hot coals. I’ve named the shortlisted and crowned the champions.
Throughout my career the invitations have been regular and varied and I thought I had done everything possible — that is, up until this week.
Out of nowhere came an invitation to speak at mass. This wasn’t from my local priest or any priest I know. Instead, the headed note paper belonged to a successful Ulster businessman with a great passion for the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association.
He is encouraging people in his community to stay off what the Reverend Ian Paisley used to call “the devil’s buttermilk”. Some Irish Catholics and Free Presbyterians are united in their dislike of alcohol and can be equally vocal on the dangers and impurities.
Quite early in the letter, the businessman reassured me I would not be expected to preach. Rather, he is hoping I can talk openly about life free from alcohol and how I managed to live some 60 years without it ever crossing my lips.
To be honest, I’m not sure if I can do this. I never had any desire to drink. Growing up, I was slightly afraid of people who were drunk. Neither of my parents were drinkers and there was never any alcohol in our house. When I did see people drinking at community events, they seemed loud and clumsy. For a child looking in, this was quite unnerving.
By the time I was old enough to be in the company of the underage drinkers, it never crossed my mind to join them. I was always able to have plenty of fun without any artificial stimulant, and I’m still like that today. Maybe it’s because I like to be in control of situations. Or am I possibly too afraid to start drinking in case I’m a latent alcoholic? I have no idea. I don’t need drink to boost my confidence, but I seem to be lacking the necessary self-belief to accept the invitation to speak at the mass where the pioneer members will be honoured with the special lapel pins which once were a common sight in Catholic Ireland but are now something of a rarity.
The Total Abstinence Association was a strong organization when I was a child. It was a genuine effort aimed at stopping Irish people from drinking themselves to death. Sadly, at that time, many were.
In more recent years, there has been a culture of social drinking with a continental sophistication adopted by many families. But sometimes that hides the demons of addiction and the health problems connected to alcohol.
Is it my job to encourage people to take the pledge and be teetotal? I don’t think so. Moderation is the best approach, but it’s not the approach of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association. Is it possible to admire the moderate drinker and still applaud those who refrain completely from the temptation?
At some point the priest will interrupt the mass. I will be called forward and, from a marble lectern, deliver my testimony.
It is an honor to be invited, but will large swathes of the congregation feel uneasy, or even queasy, after a late night on the tiles? I can’t make up my mind. Should I accept or not? It’s a tough decision. There are times I think the pressure of choosing the right thing to do is enough to drive me to drink!
