Politics « Thurles Information

Ireland Confirms Withdrawal From 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

Irish, Spanish, Dutch and Slovenian public broadcasters withdraw from Eurovision Song Contest 2026, joining widespread condemnation of violence against journalists.

Four major public-service broadcasters, RTÉ (Ireland), RTVE (Spain), AVROTROS (Netherlands), and RTVSLO (Slovenia), all have announced they will not participate in or broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, following the decision by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to allow participation of Israel.

Simultaneously, mounting concerns about the safety and dignity of journalists reporting from Gaza, including contested claims by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and strong criticism from international press-freedom organisations, further underscore the gravity of the situation.

Broadcasters — Statements of Principle.
RTÉ (Ireland): RTÉ has described continuing to broadcast or participate under these circumstances as “unconscionable,” citing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and targeted attacks on journalists and civilians.

AVROTROS (Netherlands), RTVE (Spain), RTVSLO (Slovenia): These broadcasters have similarly cited ethical considerations and concerns about legitimacy and fairness in announcing their withdrawal from Eurovision 2026.

Journalists in Gaza – Context & Contested Claims.
On 24 March 2025, two Palestinian journalists, Hossam Shabat and Mohammed Mansour, were killed in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes. The IDF later claimed they were operatives of militant groups (Hamas and Islamic Jihad), asserting Shabat had served as a “sniper” for a Hamas battalion.
Press-freedom organisations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have rejected these claims.

The public funding package for RTÉ amounts to about €725 million over three years, drawn from both TV-licence fees and direct Exchequer support.

Nevertheless, this public funding aims to support public service broadcasting ( See Minister Martin announces Government agreement on funding of RTÉ and Public Service Media), not the political stances of a previous questionable RTE board.

The funding model for RTÉ was meant to ensure stability and allow RTÉ to deliver “public service programming and content across television, radio and online services.” Critics might say that Eurovision is (or should be) an entertainment / cultural event, not a political theatre. They may argue taxpayers fund RTÉ, so it can deliver neutral public-service output, not pick international political sides when it comes to entertainment contests.

There remain the risk of alienating parts of the public and undermining “public service” trust. In a diverse society, taxpayers hold a range of views. If RTÉ uses public money to take a politically or ethically loaded position, those who disagree (or who believe Eurovision should remain apolitical fun) may feel their money is being used in ways they don’t agree with. That could erode trust in RTÉ’s neutrality.

Potential precedent creates a slippery slope, when politicising cultural events. If RTÉ withdraws from Eurovision on the basis of foreign policy or humanitarian concerns, what stops future withdrawals or boycotts of other cultural events, when public opinion becomes divided?

Using public money to make those decisions could become contentious.
The bailout was, in part, meant to restore RTÉ’s viability, not fund activism. As RTÉ itself argued, the multi-annual funding is “…not a reward for the series of mistakes the organisation has made.”
Same funding was pitched as a way to stabilise the broadcaster financially, not to empower political moralising.

In short: Public subsidy doesn’t necessarily mean public mandate for every political stance. Many could argue that Eurovision is outside the remit of core “public service” obligations.

Public opinion in Ireland is likely divided, some will support RTÉ’s stand, others will feel their TV licence money should be used impartially or that Eurovision should remain separate from geopolitics.
The withdrawal risks politicising what many see as a cultural, apolitical event, and may alienate those who would prefer RTÉ to remain neutral.

Anyway, one thing that everyone will surely agree; RTE’s TV quality and content has greatly declined.

Irish Government Announces 37 projects Under Ireland Against Racism Fund 2025.

€1.5m will be made available to 37 NGOs and community organisations to progress projects to combat racism and promote racial equality and community cohesion.
Successful organisations will receive grants of up to €100,000 and will fund a range of projects from promoting employability, to educational supports and training needs as well as a range of community based initiatives.
The fund is key part of the National Action Plan Against Racism.

The Irish Government, today, announced €1.5m will be made available to 37 NGOs and community organisations to progress projects to combat racism and promote racial equality and community cohesion.

Successful organisations will receive grants of up to €100,000 and will fund a range of projects from promoting employability, to educational supports and training needs as well as a range of community based initiatives.

The 2025 Ireland Against Racism Fund for proposals ran from 16^th July 2025 – 27^th August 2025. €1,539,234 has been made available in 2025 to support anti-racism projects through grant funding of €40,000 – €100,000 per successful Scheme A project and €5,000 – €10,000 per successful Scheme B project.

Tipperary features in the Successful Scheme B projects:

Organisation Name:	Project Name:	Amount Awarded:	Geographical Scope:
Waterford Integration Services (WIS)	A Future Without Bias: Youth Convention on Combating Racism Through AI & VR applications	€10,000	Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford & Wexford

The fund is key part of the National Action Plan Against Racism today announced the 37 projects set to receive over €1.5m in funding under the Ireland Against Racism Fund 2025.

The Fund enables non-government and community organisations to provide national and regional projects and local initiatives that combat racism and promote racial equality.

A number of successful organisations will use the funding to deliver promotional campaigns in the community, including in schools and youth groups, about how to tackle racism and discrimination. Organisations will also use the funding to provide training to staff and initiatives focusing on increasing the skills and employability of migrants.

The Fund is a key part of the National Action Plan Against Racism (NAPAR) which was informed by the experiences of people who have been directly affected by racism.

National Cyber Security Centre Launches 2025 Cyber Risk Assessment.

National Cyber Security Centre Launches 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment revealing Escalating Threat Landscape.

Rapidly evolving cyber risks put country’s critical infrastructure at risk.

Today (December 2nd) the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) launched its 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment. This is a comprehensive review of the cyber threats, systemic risks, and sectoral vulnerabilities facing the State.

Launched at the NCSC’s annual conference, the assessment provides the most detailed national overview to date of Ireland’s cyber risk environment and builds on the foundation laid by the 2022 assessment.

The assessment identifies key developments in the national and global cyber threat landscape, including increasingly sophisticated nation-state activity, the accelerating pace of cybercrime, and the growing likelihood of cascading impacts across interconnected sectors such as energy, transport, healthcare, and financial services.

Key findings of the 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment include:

As technology has advanced and reliance on digitalisation has intensified, the cyber threat landscape has become more complex with an increased risk of incidents, leading to significant cross sectoral impacts.

Taking an all-hazards approach, the 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment has identified three key systemic risks:

The dynamic geopolitical environment,
Evolving technology and its implications on security.
Supply chain security.

If any or all these risks were to be realised, it could undermine Ireland’s delivery of essential services, disrupt its critical sectors, and erode trust in government, institutions, and organisations.

To mitigate Ireland’s identified risks, five recommendations have been identified:

Strengthen visibility and detection – investing systems and structures to enhance national visibility will reduce systemic blind spots and allow the State to be better positioned to anticipate and respond to risks before they escalate.
Implement proactive cyber defence capabilities – reactive responses alone are not sufficient to protect society and the economy from the potential cascading effects of attacks on critical systems. Ireland must enhance its proactive cyber defence posture, disrupting the cyber-attack lifecycle earlier to prevent incidents at scale.
Enhance national resilience –by implementing EU frameworks in full and extending resilience beyond infrastructure to society itself, Ireland will ensure that both services and democratic institutions remain robust in the face of systemic cyber risks.
Secure critical supply chains – the State must strengthen our supply chain through strengthening procurement rules in government, embed security-by-design and risk management practices, and increase visibility of vendor ownership.
Invest in national cyber resilience – investment in people, innovation and our indigenous industrial base will ensure that Ireland has the capacity not just to respond to today’s threats but to anticipate and shape the next generation of resilience measures.

These recommendations provide a framework for the next National Cyber Security Strategy, ensuring that systemic vulnerabilities are reduced and national resilience strengthened.

The 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment is now available HERE.

Some 5,200 People Set To Attend INEC Killarney To Receive Irish Citizenship.

Today and Tomorrow 5,200 people will be granted Irish citizenship at the INEC Killarney.

Applicants from over 132 countries and across all 32 counties on the island will make a declaration of fidelity and loyalty to the State and become Irish citizens; 94 of whom will reside in Co. Tipperary.

There will be six ceremonies held over the two days in Killarney, with a government Minister of State with responsibility for Migration, in attendance, joined by 3 Ministers of State.

The Presiding Officer at the ceremonies over the next two days is Judge Mr Paddy McMahon, who will confer the attendees with Irish Citizenship. He will administer the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State. The new Irish citizens will undertake to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.

In just over two years the Citizenship Division of the Department has gone from processing around 12,000 applications a year to processing over 20,000 applications in 2023, and nearly 31,000 in 2024.

Significant changes have been introduced in the Citizenship Division of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to speed up the application process for applicants, including the introduction of an online digital application, online payments, and eVetting.

As a result, processing times are now decreasing year on year. The length of time it takes to process an application has dropped from 15 months in 2023 to 8 months in 2024.

Citizenship ceremonies were first introduced in 2011 in order to mark the occasion of the granting of citizenship in a dignified and solemn manner.

Since citizenship ceremonies were first introduced, there has been a total of 216 ceremonies (excluding the upcoming dates) with people from over 180 countries receiving their certificates of naturalisation.

To date, including minors, approximately 222,000 people have received Irish citizenship since 2011. Following the Killarney ceremonies in December, the confirmed attendees of over 5,200 will be added to this figure.

Renaming Herzog Park, A Mistake Ireland Should Not Make.

The proposal to strip Herzog Park of its name is more than a routine motion before Dublin City Council. It is a gesture that cuts directly across Ireland’s own history, its values, and its long, if now fading, relationship with our Jewish community.

An Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin was right to call this proposal “divisive and wrong”. It is exactly that. To remove the Herzog name is to erase a story woven deeply into the fabric of the Irish State: a story of solidarity, shared struggle, and the willingness of a small minority community to stand with Ireland, before Irish independence was secure.

**Late** **Rabbi Yitzhak Halevi Herzog**. *(1888–1959)*

Chaim Herzog’s father, Rabbi Yitzhak Halevi Herzog, took his place beside the first Dáil at a moment when such an act carried real personal risk. He did not choose silence or obscurity. Instead, he offered his leadership, his scholarship, and his friendship to a fledgling nation then struggling to define itself.

In the decades that followed, Rabbi Herzog built an unlikely, but enduring, relationship with Éamon de Valera. He learned Irish, advised during the drafting of the 1937 Irish Constitution, and ensured that the Jewish community, then facing existential threat elsewhere in Europe, was explicitly protected in our founding document. De Valera himself regarded this protection as essential.

Removing the Herzog name now shows little regard for that legacy. It risks signalling that Irish memory is selective, and that contributions made by minorities count only until the political winds shift.

The forest of 10,000 trees planted in Israel in 1965 in de Valera’s honour was intended as a lasting symbol of mutual respect. Today, that symbol stands in stark contrast to a relationship that has deteriorated to the point where the Israeli Embassy has closed its doors in Dublin. Ireland’s foreign policy in recent years has been shaped by new pressures, shifting alliances, and at times, an eagerness to move with global trends rather than stand firmly in the centre.

The debate over Herzog Park is symptomatic of something deeper: a narrowing of historical perspective. In the heat of present-day geopolitical tensions, there is a temptation to reduce Ireland’s stance to simple binaries, solidarity with one cause, with condemnation of another. But this neglects the complexities of our own past, including the violence we once justified in the name of liberation. The Good Friday Agreement may have delivered peace, but it also allowed a form of civic amnesia to settle in. We remember heroics; we forget those who suffered outside the story we prefer to tell.

It is easy to brandish the language of liberation and resistance. It is harder to honour the quieter, older stories, like that of the Herzogs, who stood with Ireland not for applause or advantage, but because it was right.

Contemporary Political Climate.
Renaming Herzog Park would say far more about today’s Ireland than about its past. It would suggest a willingness to discard historical nuance, to minimise minority contributions, and to allow contemporary tensions to override long-established bonds.

The proposal should be immediately withdrawn. Not as a favour to one community, but as an affirmation of Ireland’s own basic integrity, its commitment to remembering fairly, honouring generously, and resisting the pull of easy revisionism by those foolishly elected individuals, each with little knowledge or understanding of our rich Irish history.
Ireland’s political landscape has been increasingly influenced by global tensions, including heightened pro-Palestinian activism by in particular Fine Gael. Critics warn that the Irish State has risked aligning itself with more extreme elements, even as it seeks to preserve long standing international relationships, including its strategic ties with the United States.

However, there are statutory safeguards and restrictions already in place.
Name changes require formal procedures, not ad-hoc renaming. While there isn’t a blanket ban on changing Irish place names, there are laws which regulate and restrict how name changes can happen.

Same can be viewed HERE.