Stephen Bourke
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anburcach.bsky.social
Stephen Bourke
@anburcach.bsky.social
Journalist in Dublin
Are these legislative delays anything to do with the fact that Fine Gael floated a proposal a few years back to open motorway hard shoulders to general traffic, I wonder?

www.irishtimes.com/politics/oir...
Bus corridor on M4 is already built, but ‘cannot open due to legislative delays’
Dedicated motorway lane as well as greater remote working would ease congestion, Dáil hears
www.irishtimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Taxis out of bus lanes please
Taxi drivers have warned that the market in Ireland risks being “controlled by profit-driven algorithms” due to the rise of taxi apps.

This morning, the Joint Committee on Transport will meet to discuss issues facing the taxi industry.
jrnl.ie/6933330
Taxi drivers seek crackdown on apps that 'reward longer hours and penalise job refusal'
The Joint Committee on Transport will meet this morning to discuss issues facing the taxi industry.
jrnl.ie
January 21, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Deserved tbh
January 21, 2026 at 9:36 AM
January 20, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
Shop worker with heart condition let go for taking too much sick leave gets €6,500
Shop worker with heart condition let go for taking too much sick leave gets €6,500
WRC finds worker ‘discriminatorily dismissed’ due to her disability
www.irishtimes.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
Woman living in tent found dead on Dublin’s Pearse Street
Woman living in tent found dead on Dublin’s Pearse Street
Charity describes deceased as ‘being as happy as she could’
www.irishtimes.com
January 18, 2026 at 6:27 PM
I'm old enough to remember when the strategic vulnerability on Europe's western flank was Ireland. It was two months ago.
January 18, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
John Boorman is 93.
This anecdote about him & Lee Marvin has quite the punchline.
January 18, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Rambling hours-long televised addresses from fearless leader to be expected by the end of his term
NYT publishes audio of Karoline Leavitt threatening CBS over its Trump interview: “He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off.’” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/b...
‘We’ll Sue’: White House’s Warning to CBS Is Sign of a New Media Status Quo
www.nytimes.com
January 18, 2026 at 2:53 AM
There was little said when it was only for DEIS schools, but the genie is out of the bottle since school meals went universal last year. I think rich parents may soon start paying in for meal programmes at their schools (while insisting a state subsidy of €3.80 a plate go on).

jrnl.ie/6926523
'Wrecked by dietitians' and 'sweaty' packaging: Your views on Hot School Meals
Politicians heard this week that the scheme isn’t sustainable, while some teachers said the short time allowed for children to eat isn’t helping.
jrnl.ie
January 17, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
Anyone choosing to pay 70K on a car should be judged unfit for public office in any case.
January 16, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
Apparently in a hurry to get back to Kerry. Is the FF deputy unaware there is a state subsidised flight twice a day from Dublin to Kerry and that FF have secured over €1.5m pa in funding for KIR? Makes Dublin to Kerry a 40m trip. I guess with 2 year driving ban he’ll be using it from now on.
Well-to-do motorists have a agency and choice. When the deputy bought the Audi Q5, he might well have seen the marketing literature describing it as "sporty". (The PHEV version weighs 2t and will do 250km/h.) A €500 fine hardly cuts it. The car should be seized.

www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co...
Fianna Fáil TD convicted of dangerous driving for travelling at 190km/h on motorway
‘This is an embarrassment for me ... I’m annoyed at myself,’ says Kerry deputy after conviction
www.irishtimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
Graduated fines FTW - this man is on 110k + expenses and his car is worth 70k. Any fine less than say 10k is trivial to him. Make his sell the car (that he can’t drive anyway) to pay the fine.
January 16, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Well-to-do motorists have a agency and choice. When the deputy bought the Audi Q5, he might well have seen the marketing literature describing it as "sporty". (The PHEV version weighs 2t and will do 250km/h.) A €500 fine hardly cuts it. The car should be seized.

www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/co...
Fianna Fáil TD convicted of dangerous driving for travelling at 190km/h on motorway
‘This is an embarrassment for me ... I’m annoyed at myself,’ says Kerry deputy after conviction
www.irishtimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Indicative of the level of conscious thought which accompanies the obligatory anti-cyclist screed the press seems to be legally required to publish is a vox pop claim that those cycling expect the road to "open up like the Black Sea in front of them”.
January 15, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Civil war looming in NATO... well, it's just as well we're not in NATO.
January 15, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
The German company who made the big umbrellas are clearly exasperated dealing with the council lol (and who could blame them)
The gigantic umbrellas meant to shelter Meeting House Square are broken and their future unclear. They were damaged during routine maintenance in May 2023, a council spokesperson said on Thursday.
The gigantic umbrellas meant to shelter Meeting House Square are broken and their future unclear
They were damaged during routine maintenance in May 2023, a council spokesperson said on Thursday.
www.dublininquirer.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
Have been contacted by some victims of deepfaking / non-consensual manipulation of their images by AI - about their experiences.

If anyone else in Ireland has a story they'd like to share on the issue, please feel free to contact me.
January 14, 2026 at 7:13 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
Judge who said cyclists a “nightmare” pleaded guilty to failing to take breathalyser test

A Dublin-based Circuit Court judge who said that "Cyclists have become a nightmare in Dublin" pleaded guilty in 2012 to failing to comply with a request by a garda to use a breathalyser in Connemara.…
Judge who said cyclists a “nightmare” pleaded guilty to failing to take breathalyser test
A Dublin-based Circuit Court judge who said that "Cyclists have become a nightmare in Dublin" pleaded guilty in 2012 to failing to comply with a request by a garda to use a breathalyser in Connemara. According to court reports yesterday, Judge O’Donohoe said in the Circuit Civil Court said: “You never know with cyclists what they are going to do or anticipate what they are going to do...
irishcycle.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
greatest steam update of all time, because of one unnecessary detail
January 12, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Should be a highly relevant consideration for the State's continuing acquiescence to the US military's use of Shannon Airport.
Breaking NYT:

The Pentagon used a secret aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane in its first boat attack, according to officials briefed on the matter.

The laws of armed conflict forbid combatants from feigning civilian status.

That is a war crime called "perfidy."
U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:20 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
Government to consider asking Government for money from Government to build project Government promised to build but then delayed in later Government plan #IrishPolitics
www.irishtimes.com/transport/20...
Funding approval for Dart+ South West could be brought forward to pre-2030
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said there was ‘flexibility’ in funding under the National Development Plan
www.irishtimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by Stephen Bourke
This grok stuff is making clear ONCE AGAIN how badly compromised our democracy is from 40years of FDImaxxing
January 8, 2026 at 11:24 AM
This direction of travel was openly heralded in a European Defence Agency publication two years ago which spoke of channeling money into arms industry R&D. jrnl.ie/6914311
Government warned state could contribute billions indirectly to EU defence with little benefit
The warning comes as work continues in negotiating the EU’s next budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework – which will cover the years 2028 to 2034.
jrnl.ie
January 6, 2026 at 9:55 PM