Lochlainn Joyce 🇮🇪

I do not believe that the current overall political strategy of the EU wrt Ukraine is in the interests of EU citizens

@Migrant_Mick @danobrien20 So we're not spending? We are content with the current level of services?

@LochlainnJoyce @danobrien20 Sure, while Ireland may have a high capital-spending share by comparative to its peers, that share is still drawn from the budget of a state whose overall spending remains low.

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.

@SineadOS1 @LeoVaradkar Omg what an own

@LeoVaradkar You had *checks notes* thirteen years in government to make these graphs look different. Thankfully only one of us teaches economics. You wouldn’t even get into my class 💁🏼‍♀️

The protests in Ireland are not about just fuel! They are about the distance between Ireland on this graph and every other modern and developed economy. Ireland is second wealthiest but gets waaaaay less than any other country for that wealth. By a golden mile. That visual gap in this graph? That’s what people are protesting. It’s a lack of infrastructure and the everyday enshittification of services, the economy, and the additional difficulty of trying to live, relative to peers in any other country. It also highlights why people don’t get uniformly listened to! - because there is no government architecture to engage meaningfully across this huge gap. That gap is a three hour drive to work in traffic, a 14 month wait for an MRI, buses that don’t arrive, trains that don’t exist, schools that have no places for your kids, houses that are unaffordable, pubs that close before midnight, €12 sandwiches, expensive fuel. People feel this gap, even if they can’t explain it precisely. And that builds into resentment, and ultimately protest. Fuel just happened to be the next thing that could be pointed to, today.

The enshittification of Ireland and the hollowing out of our institutions is the single largest threat to Irish civil society and prosperity. In this damning piece, I'm going into more detail about the graph I posted yesterday: why it's happening in Ireland, why the way we're thinking about the protests is entirely wrong, and what this means for our collective governance. Link to the article is below!

@IrishTimesOpEd @IrishTimes Spectacular ratio

Fintan O'Toole: Ireland’s far-right movement will emerge from the ‘breakfast roll-atariat’ irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/0…

4: My final straw was the death of my 9-year-old son Harvey.Removed from the urgent list without our knowledge or consent. He died on 29 July 2025. And he's not the only one. No child should die like my son. What will YOUR final straw be?

@danobrien20 And Luxembourg public services are off the charts Free public transport being the main one: buses, trains, trams...all free

Ireland had the fourth* highest government expenditure on a per person basis in the EU in 2024. * Luxembourg, which is by far the highest at $70k, is omitted because it's off the charts.

@StephenBrowne4 Rather than the IPAS contracts

Well that’s any income tax or USC cuts gone for Budget 2027 so then

@soncharm Cause it increases the chance of maintaining the Ukroscam for as long as possible Once the lid is lifted on it all current EU politicians will be implicated and legacies destroyed. They want to keep the lid on it till theyre at least out of office

As someone who hadn’t paid attention to Hungary or Orban at all, I find these gushing reactions from Western politicians just bizarre. There was an election in Hungary and a guy lost and the other guy won? Ok? And that’s a Victory For Democracy? Huh? Why did they hate Orban so much idgi. I’m not saying I liked Orban. I know nothing about him. Other than that he ‘is corrupt’. Which I’m sure is true of zillions of other pols. So what was so special about him that everyone’s reacting this way? Why does retired President/Netflix producer Barack Obama even care who wins some election in Hungary(!) of all places, how did we get here? What am I missing

The total amount spent on Asylum Accommodation from Q1 2021 to Q4 2025 is €6,453,196,768.19. The Top 25 Companies: CAPEWRATHHOTEL €245.7M MOSNEY €134.3M TRAVELODGE €130.3M GUESTFORD LTD €124.4M BRIMWOOD €116.5M HOLIDAY INN DUBLIN AIRPORT €111.7M TIFCO LTD €108.4M BRIDGESTOCK CARE LTD €94.4M ALL PRO SECURITY SERVICES €93.7M IGO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT €82.4M WINDWARD MANAGEMENT LTD €75.4M MILLSTREET EQUESTRIAN SERVICES €74.1M NEXT WEEK & CO LTD €73.0M EAST COAST CATERING (IRELAND) €64.3M TOWNBELT LTD €64.3M HERONWELL LTD €56.3M CAMPBELL CATERING LTD €53.9M TIRAWLEY LTD €53.1M GATEWAY INTEGRATION€49.8M FAZYARD LTD €44.9M THE D HOTEL €44.7M PUMPKIN SPICE LTD €44.7M TRABOLGAN HOLIDAY CENTRE LTD €44.3M TOTAL EXPERIENCE LTD €44.0M JJUNIOR SERVICES UNLIMITED €44.0M ..🧵

@Bioreactor21973 @HavryshkoMarta Yeah thats what Im saying. They are the worst of the worst and will be hunted when things come to an end. Therefore they will be taken in by morally bankrupt Western nations

@LochlainnJoyce @HavryshkoMarta Maybe in the West they will get amnesty, but there definitely won't be any from the Ukrainian people after a change of Zelensky’s regime. They will face serious consequences. Databases containing their details are already being filled with data.

A man paid $12,000 for an ‘extreme river crossing experience’ on an inflatable boat just to make it into Moldova—apparently desperate to escape the ‘paradise’ that Western media keeps branding as a 'bastion of democracy'. Unfortunately, both he and his ‘tour supervisor’ got caught. Now he’ll be redeeming his disgrace somewhere in a kill zone.

@leonidragozin @SuperbubbleCo The EU consider that they are at war with Russia and that these acts are a necessary evil...or at least thats the excuse

Little sympathy for Orban, but do European politicians consider that what is being done to him by intel agencies and infowar networks, will be eventually done to them? Pandora’s box is open, the template is there and the appetite for meddling and manipulation is insatiable. The fear of those who unleashes lawlessness drives them further into the black hole. Those who “fighting Russia” turn their own countries into a version of Putin’s Russia.

@JohnSimpsonNews How would giving more money to Ukraine turn the tide against populism? Populism has been rising the past few years we have being giving money to Ukraine. Don't you think if we increase giving away money then populism also will increase?

Today could be a big turning-point. If Hungary votes to oust Viktor Orbán, Putin’s (and, weirdly, Trump’s) ally inside the EU and NATO will be gone. The EU can give more help to Ukraine, which is anyway doing better on the battlefield. And the tide could turn against populism.

@WarriorSpeech28 Large wine = £6? Deal

Last night I walked into a quiet little village pub. Just low beams, old carpet and a bloke in the corner who’s probably been sat on the same stool since 1998. I ordered a pint, nine quid, got the missus a large wine. Fifteen quid for two drinks. I just stood there for a second like I’d accidentally ordered shares in the building. I remember being 20 and getting pints for £2.50. The economy is so cooked we’re paying luxury prices for nostalgia.

@Bioreactor21973 @HavryshkoMarta They'll be given amnesty in the West when things fall...will prolly get positions in security services across the EU

@HavryshkoMarta It's not by accident that they always stand with their backs to the camera in these photos. Even UA soldiers at the front never hide their faces. But Zelenskyy's internal terrorists always do so very carefully. There is a reason for this, and they know it. But it won't help them.

@ThomasByrneTD Would prolly "do you better" to worry about the commuters and health services of Meath...arent they your constituents? Havent seen to do too much for them the last few years

Who on earth do you think you are? Would do you better to worry about the commuters and health services of Meath and let the civic authorities do their job.

@KeithWoodsYT "Most of these people will ultimately support one of the government parties at the next election." I would change that to "would have" Id say this will be a huge boon for independent ireland candidates

Some thoughts on the fuel protests in Ireland: * Protests led by transport operators and farmers are causing major road disruptions across Ireland, in protest of sustained increases in fuel costs which they say is making their businesses unviable. * It is led mostly by small business owners, hauliers, farmers, contractors etc., it's a demographic that is otherwise one of the most supportive of govt. parties. Most of these people will ultimately support one of the government parties at the next election. * Carbon taxes should be scrapped, but they are a relatively small share of the total fuel cost. About half the cost of fuel in Ireland goes to tax which is high but not remarkably so by EU standards, where 8 countries tax it more heavily. There is a legitimate grievance that fuel taxes are "regressive" and hit small businesses and households disproportionately, but: * The government already responded to this price shock with a relief package and lowered excise duty, which itself is an exceptional measure to do outside an annual budget. What changed since then is the global price of oil continuing to rise, not anything the Irish state did. There should be more relief for businesses but this was already being negotiated with their representatives. * The price shock is entirely because of Israel and America's war on Iran, so it's especially contemptible seeing slopulists who cheered that on now trying to capitalise on this sentiment. * I don't like leftist groups like Just Stop Oil shutting down roads and inconveniencing ordinary people to impose their politics and I don't like other groups doing it. * This isn't some nationwide populist revolt and it won't become one, it's certainly not "civil war" as some slop accounts on here are trying to present it. This is a group with a very specific economic grievance against the government which isn't really ideological and isn't going to lead to any larger movement of anti-regime sentiment. * Sinn Féin and other leftist parties are already behind demands to lower fuel prices further, they will all adopt anger about the "cost of living crisis" into their policies and rhetoric. I understand the impulse to get behind anything disruptive and anti-establishment like this, but I consider the demands confused and the response of shutting down the country's supply chains over a specific tax grievance to be vastly disproportionate. I would be very happy if this led to a larger, more coherent anti-establishment movement, but my belief is these swells of reactionary sentiment rarely translate into anything meaningful without a firm ideological grounding.

@MichealMartinTD The people are tired of your shite Fair play to those who are taking a stand

It is unconscionable and illogical that amidst a global supply crisis, blockades are pushing Ireland to the precipice of turning away vital oil shipments to international buyers.

@Aidan_Regan @EamonMelia 👏👏👏 Serious miscalculation from government to have played this down so much It was evident from the speeches Fitzaurice was giving and others to packed townhalls over the weekend that there was real discontent and potential for such an outcome

A euro per litre of diesel goes to the state. Defended on the grounds that high taxes change behaviour. They don't. You can't change behaviour when you have no options. Flawed environmental economics dressed up as climate policy = political backlash.