Marriage equality: ten years on, has Ireland's progressive optimism disappeared?
But what is sometimes called 'the progressive agenda' has since had setbacks, including last year's defeated referendums on family and care.
So how relevant is progressivism to Irish politics now, and where does that energy go next? Labour leader Ivana Bacik, columnist Gerard Howlin and political editor Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan on today's Inside Politics podcast to look back at the 2015 referendum campaign and assess its legacy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Eoin Hayes readmittance by Social Democrats a bid to put an end to difficult question for party
The Social Democrats decision to readmit its TD for Dublin Bay South , Eoin Hayes , to the parliamentary party marks an answer – of sorts – to a difficult question for the party. The suspension was handed down (without a fixed term attached) after he inaccurately told the media that he had sold shares in a company he formerly worked for before he entered politics. The company, Palantir , has lucrative contracts with the Israel Defense Forces – which prompted charges of hypocrisy in the first instance, given the party's outspoken stance on the bombardment of Gaza . This became politically combustible once he admitted he sold the shares for €199,000 after he was elected to Dublin City Council last year. The decision on Hayes's future conjured a range of overlapping procedural, political and ethical questions for the party. He was not suspended for holding the Palantir shares, nor for selling them at a profit (he has donated $51,000 to charity – representing the after-tax uplift in the value between October 7th, 2023 and the time they were sold). He could only be sanctioned for the offence he was being punished for – specifically, issuing inaccurate information and misleading the media. READ MORE However, TDs know that some members will find that narrow logic difficult to swallow. 'I'm happy with the decision; I think it was the right one,' says one TD, but acknowledges that there is a 'mixture' of views on it in the party. 'I know a lot of people are really hurt,' said the same TD. [ Galway city councillor resigns from Social Democrats Opens in new window ] The decision, under the party's constitution, falls to the leader – or acting leader in the case of Dublin Bay North TD Cian O'Callaghan. Members of the parliamentary party heard the news was coming before a press release announcing that Hayes had been readmitted to the party landed, shortly after 6pm last Friday. The timing in the political calendar is helpful – with the Dáil in recess and many politicians (not to mention political correspondents) on holidays, the risk of a TD being put on the spot in front of a microphone is reduced. Party TDs who spoke to The Irish Times on the condition of anonymity recognised that it was a decision that would have consequences that would need to be managed – but felt that on balance it had to be done. 'You need to make decisions in politics,' said one TD. A second TD surmised that people were 'frustrated and upset' over the issue, outlining the belief that the party will lose members and supporters arising from Hayes' readmission. Much speculation has centred on Dublin Rathdown TD Sinead Gibney, who party colleagues perceive as holding the deepest misgivings over readmitting Hayes. Gibney herself has been keeping her counsel, although some party colleagues believe she is ' okay with it'. Undoubtedly, among the first questions for leader Holly Cairns once she returns from maternity leave will be about the Hayes saga – and the parliamentary party and headquarters will have to figure out what they say about that. But the overriding political reasoning, outlines a party source, was that the longer it went on, the more difficult it became to avoid a final decision, and the more awkward the strategic questions became. Why Hayes was readmitted – even if it will invite scrutiny as to whether it undermines the party's position on Gaza – is a 'much more answerable question', in the view of this party figure. Most party sources believe that departures from staff or the membership will be limited – although one member, Martha Ni Riada, who also worked for acting leader O'Callaghan, tweeted a resignation from the party following the decision. It remains to be seen if others will follow, but TDs and party sources who spoke to The Irish Times believe it will not be an exodus. Members will be listened to and the party will explain its position if asked, one TD said, adding: 'It was a mistake – he made a big mistake but there has to be a way back from big mistakes as well.'
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Inheritance tax reform is unlikely to be able to keep everyone happy
One of the contentious issues during the general election campaign was inheritance tax . And both of the big Coalition parties made promises to cut the burden further in the years to come and to look at the 'fairness' of the system. The recently-published Tax Strategy Group papers – drawn up by civil servants to outline options for budget day – have taken the debate further, scoping out possible reforms. Whatever happens here, there will be big debate. So what are the options? 1. Do nothing: There is limited room for manoeuvre in the €1.5 billion budget tax package, promised in last week's Summer Economic Statement. So the Coalition parties could decide to do nothing. While commitments were made in the manifestos of the two big parties, the promises were not repeated in the Programme for Government. That said, both parties used rising house prices as a reason to increase the bands in the last budget. And those property prices have continued to rise. READ MORE 2. Increase the thresholds: In Ireland, as in most other countries, inheritance tax is paid by the person inheriting the money, rather than coming from the estate, as it does in the UK and US. The amount of inheritance tax you pay depends on your relationship to the person you are inheriting from – known in tax jargon as the disponer. For spouses and civil partners, inheritances are free of tax. There are then three tax free thresholds over which you pay the 33 per cent tax rate. The tax involved is formally known as capital acquisitions tax – which also covers gifts – and the thresholds are lifetime limits. So if you inherit from someone, large gifts (anything over €3,000 given in a single year) you received are also counted in. In last October's budget, the group A threshold which applies to children inheriting from a parent (or vice versa) rose to €400,000 from €335,000 previously. The group B threshold applies to brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and grandchildren of the person giving the gift or inheritance. It rose in the last budget from €32,500 to €40,000. The group C threshold, applying to everyone else, rose from €16,250 to €20,000. The total cost was €88 million to the exchequer in a full year. Special rules apply in some particular cases, such as foster children and inheritances by parents from their children, as well as in other limited cases. Further increases in the main thresholds would be the cleanest budget measure. The Fianna Fáil manifesto promised to review the thresholds each year while Fine Gael said it would aim for thresholds of €500,000, €75,000 and €50,000 for the three categories – though it did not give a timescale for it. Might a rise in the Group A threshold to €450,000 be on the cards, with B rising to €45,000? 3. Focus on the Group B threshold. In a recent answer in the Dáil, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the Government would ask that the specific issue of the relatively low level of the B threshold relative to the A one would be examined by the Tax Strategy Group (TSG). This is seen by some to unfairly disadvantage some family relations – for example those inheriting from aunts and uncles can inherit €40,000 tax free, compared to those inheriting from parents, where the figure if €400,000. People who do not have children feel particularly strongly on the issue. The TSG points out that 70 per cent of those who received a substantial inheritance received it from their parents – and that the Irish legal system differentiates in other areas between direct familial relationships and more distant ones. Because of the level of tax relief which applies to children inheriting from their parents, the amount of inheritance tax raised under the Group B threshold – €339 million last year – was actually higher than the than Group A total, at €298 million. (When gifts are added in, the total revenue from Group A remains slightly higher.) This means reform of the Group B threshold would not come cheaply. While the officials warned that it was impossible to give a precise estimate, they said that giving those in Group B the same €400,000 threshold as children in Group A would cost a maximum of €300 million a year. Of course a smaller increase in the Group B threshold would also be an option. 4. Introduce new reliefs: Another option to help heirs beyond direct children would be to allow the person making the gift or inheritance select one or two people who could benefit from the Group A threshold. This would also be potentially costly to the exchequer and thought would be needed in framing any new rules – to ensure, for instance, that children were not disadvantaged. 5. Reforms with no cost to the exchequer: Government officials tend to put forward options which are unlikely to happen, as well as likely runners. The TSG report points out that if the Government wanted to merge the A and B threshold without any cost to the exchequer, it could create a single threshold at €151,500. This might please nieces and nephews receiving inheritances, but would leave children much worse off, as a lot more of what they get would be exposed to the 33 per cent charge. It would, however, be in line with the report of the Commission on Tax and Welfare , which reported in 2022 and called for a significant cut in the Group A threshold. 6. Raising money: Perhaps to annoy their political masters, the civil servants also scoped out ways of raising more money. One was, as in countries such as France, to charge a higher rate on larger inheritances – and a much smaller one on smaller amounts. Removing the tax thresholds entirely and having a sliding scale of rates from 1 per cent on amounts below €40,000, rising gradually to 40 per cent on amounts over €400,000 would raise close to €1 billion extra for the exchequer. Another was – again as recommended by the Commission on Tax and Welfare- to reduce the relief available to people inheriting farms or businesses which allows for a 90 per cent reduction in liabilities and also tax-free thresholds. This also looks unlikely seeing as the Programme for Government promises to take new measures to boost farm succession and 'support farm transfers by reviewing the tax-free threshold for Capital Acquisitions Tax'. Any reforms in Budget 2026 are likely to give, rather than take.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Galway city councillor resigns from Social Democrats
A Galway city councillor has resigned from the Social Democrats . Eibhlín Seoighthe, who represents the city's central ward, was the party's candidate in Galway West in last year's general election. She polled 2,172 first preference votes before being eliminated on the 10th count. A spokeswoman for the party confirmed Ms Seoighthe's resignation. Ms Seoighthe did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. It is understood that she informed party colleagues of the decision, which she told them had been made with a 'heavy heart', on Thursday morning. Ms Seoighthe did not expand on her reasons for leaving the party. A party source acknowledged that the news came in the days after the Social Democrats ended the suspension of Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes from the parliamentary party , but argued that Ms Seoighthe had not made an explicit link with this move so far. Mr Hayes had been suspended for almost eight months after he gave misleading information about when he sold shares in a former employer, Palantir, which has lucrative contracts with the Israel Defense Forces . Sources in the Social Democrats earlier this week outlined the belief that following Mr Hayes' readmission to the parliamentary party, there would be limited departures of staff, representatives or the membership. One member, Martha Ní Riada, who also worked for acting leader Cian O'Callaghan, tweeted that she was resigning from the party following the decision.
