Lorraine Courtney: Ireland needs a proper right-wing party before scales of our democracy are irreparably broken

Simon Harris has pumped up the volume on law and order ahead of taking up the role of taoiseach. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Lorraine Courtney

You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. So it was with the disappearance of the Progressive Democrats (PDs) from Leinster House.

For years, the PDs were a counterbalance to the more centrist and left-leaning parties in Ireland. Like a dutiful hinge, they kept the political door from swinging too far in any one direction.