Taoiseach in Washington DC, cost of living abroad and what’s the problem with virtue signalling?

Taoiseach in Washington D.C., cost of living abroad and what’s the problem with virtue signalling?

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Taoiseach Micheal Martin in Philadelphia, during his visit to the US for St Patrick's Day. Picture date: Sunday March 15, 2026. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Taoiseach Micheal Martin in Philadelphia, during his visit to the US for St Patrick's Day. Picture date: Sunday March 15, 2026. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire

The Taoiseach Micheál Martin is in Washington and begins the second day of his St Patrick’s Day visit. He will attend the Irish Funds dinner later today meeting a network of people backing cultural and community projects in Ireland, and will visit the White House tomorrow.

As the world’s attention is focused on the Middle East, the war in Ukraine rages on. On today’s In The News podcast the Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun shares a story of hardship, particularly in the depths of winter.

The Women’s Coalition on Immigration has been claiming there is a link between migrants and sexual violence. Irish Times political correspondent Ellen Coyne has been looking into their campaign after the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre raised concerns about efforts to “weaponise the issue of sexual violence”.

How does Dublin stack up against other major cities across the world when it comes to the cost of living? Conor Pope decided to find out.

Is virtue signalling on social media ultimately negative? Joe Humphreys’ writes today about the good and the bad.

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