It has been an eventful week in Irish politics, with the news that Paschal Donohoe would resign his Dáil seat and leave ministerial office to take up a role at the World Bank. That significance was emphasised when Tánaiste Simon Harris announced that he would assume the finance portfolio himself. As Political Editor Pat Leahy argues in his weekend analysis, this moment demands caution about political certainties. The departure of Donohoe, he suggests, removes from Government a champion of steadiness and perspective at a time when both are badly needed. For Harris, the finance role is a test of political substance.
