Hugh O'Connell (Irish Independent) articles on Holly Cairns planning permission

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arbitron

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Hugh O'Connell seems to be auditioning for a role at the Daily Mail. A few months ago he wrote an article about Soc Dem leader Holly Cairns applying for planning permission:

Holly Cairns plans to build house more than twice the size of average home

which he has now followed with an update:

Soc Dems leader Holly Cairns gets planning for new house more than twice the size of average home

I do not see any public interest in this at all. Whatever about one article, following a non-story up with a second is inexplicable. Nothing illegal or even unusual on the part of Cairns. The angle seems to be that she is somehow wrong or a hypocrite because she has the desire and the means to build a larger house than average. It's not exactly Kinsealy.

Architectural drawings for the proposed development show Ms Cairns’s new home will include a large master bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe, plus an ensuite with a shower and bath.
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Are TDs not allowed storage and indoor washing facilities?

Speaking at her party’s think-in last week, Ms Cairns said: “I think if you’re on a minister’s wage or a TD’s wage or a Taoiseach’s wage, there is no housing crisis, there are no waiting lists. You can pay for everything... they don’t seem to really understand then the reality of what people are facing. So it’s obliviousness.”

...

Ms Cairns moved to clarify her comments yesterday, saying she had “always stated that I am in a privileged position as a TD”.

...

Ms Cairns, who is also entitled to an annual travel and accommodation allowance of over €33,000 a year, says she has waived pay increases afforded to TDs since she came into the Dáil.

Yesterday she said she does not receive any extra allowance as leader of her party.

She added: “The right to housing should not extend only to those on very high incomes.”

...

Ms Cairns said in her planning application that when her mother retires, she will have responsibility for the livestock on the farm and will need to live nearby.
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She acknowledges that she is lucky because she is on a high wage. She is planning ahead for when she takes over the farm, surely a reasonable and responsible thing to do.

Can anyone shed any light on why this particular story has been highlighted by the Deputy Political Editor of a large national newspaper?
 
It's a dreadfully petty article. I want people who are smarter and more successful than me running the country and the opposition. I don't agree with many of her views but she's a smart and capable woman who, I would suggest, would be earning far more if she invested the same time and energy in another career. I wish her and her family well in her new home and I hope she doesn't take notice of nasty begrudging people who play to the basest elements of society.
 
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