Sunday and other Media Stupid Statements from this week…

There can only be one (or two!) starting with this:

The one silver lining from Brexit is that it gave Paschal Donohoe the opportunity to bring in a sensible budget. It provided the Minister for Finance with a cast-iron excuse to resist the chorus of demands for extra spending from every vested interest group in the country, political opponents and, most crucially of all, his own Cabinet colleagues

EH’s piece is full of self-vindication, although precious little evidence for that given what is actually happening, and drags in his usual incorrect stat:

I fear the bad faith of this Irish Government in its dealings with the majority of Northern Protestants, some 81pc of whom, no matter what their other differences, reject the backstop.

That 81% refers, of course, to an NI backstop, which was not what the May plan envisioned (instead having a UK wide backstop). But here’s the conundrum for EH – for all the talk about ‘bad faith’ it is the British, not Irish government, that would appear to be moving towards keeping just NI in some form of customs union. That’s the shape of the deal. And in any event it is the DUP itself which continues to dissent from any agreement.

Any other contradictions, comments, etc, gratefully accepted.