Sack'em all Bertie

gom

You can vote for which minister should get the sack. Love the little red noses on the lot of them but think it is not very appropriate seen as I and most others assoiate that with Comic Relief and Charity.

gom

i voted for McDowell

Harney seems to be getting a wipping however

Batbat

Justice and health should go

Akula

Mature.... very mature by Labour.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

gom

Akula wrote:

Mature.... very mature by Labour.

Whats suprising is the fact that McDowell is polling poorly. its a Labour Poll and he is only achieving 5%.

I wish that Bertie was on it too. WHy not? Let the BackBenches Rise and have a nice revolt. Nothing better in my opinion.

Sleipnir

This is a really sad thing for a political party to do.
It's actually worse than Bush's Kerry-bashing ads.

How could you possibly take Labour seriously with that sort of carry-on?

ReefBreak

I find it amusing that Labour have to lower themselves to this. I mean, as it stands it's a simple enough task being in opposition - all you have to do is moan and whinge, and say "we'd be much better, honest." Yet I have never been given any rational reason to vote labour, unless increased borrowing, taxation and a return to the outdated fiscal ineptitude of the 70s and 80s is something that I actually want. Yet this is what Labour actually proposed before the last election.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

DublinWriter

ReefBreak wrote:

I find it amusing that Labour have to lower themselves to this.

Well, at least Labour aren't blowing millions in taxpayers money funding equstrian centres for pals and browsing through the Learjet catalogue.

As for high taxation, no one believes that guff about FF being the party of low taxation. If you keep saying it to yourself often enough, you might just start believing it.

ReefBreak

According to the last OECD report, Ireland has the 2nd lowest taxation burden in the EU. I don't believe it because I keep saying to myself, I believe it because it's true.

Champ

Well in all fairness; Dermot Ahern wasn't so bad. He did play an important part in first bringing flat rate packages; and then broadband to Ireland. I felt he was at least one of the ministers that could be depended on. I know a lot of people would criticize him for the whole affair of the land line rental; but overall he wasn't too bad.

AngelofFire

Ministers that i think should be for the chop

Noel Dempsey-reintroduce college fees by stealth? No thanks.

Michael McDowel-For turning ireland into the biggest nanny state in europe, with the ammendment to the intoxicating liquor act in 2003.Taking a hammer to the equal status act, as a result 20 year old adults cannot get served alcohol in certain venues anymore.Also his idiotic "inequality is good" comments

Seamus Brennan-Unintegrated bus and tram network, the opening of the second line of the Luas is now delayed until february 2005 despite the fact the 7 years ago he told that it would be open by the year 2000.

Raskolnikov

I assume that the red noses and the tent in the background was to suggest that the members of the cabinet are nothing more than clowns, rather than anything to do with Comic Relief.

Poor old Mary is getting a hammering at 42%, rather unfairly if you ask me, she's not the worst of them.

I'm reasonably pleased with the preformance of the government during these two terms (given the alternative) although I don't like where they're going with this 'social initiatives'.

sceptre

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

"Gotten"'s not an Americanism. Like quite a few other words (including some used here but not in England) used by Americans it was commonly used in the UK up to the mid-17th century (in this case as one of the two past participles for "get"), travelled to the US, continued in use there and became somewhat obsolete here.

DublinWriter

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Actually, it's "Arrgghh they can't even manage to use English correctly".

Drop that rock and come out of the greenhouse.

DublinWriter

ReefBreak wrote:

According to the last OECD report, Ireland has the 2nd lowest taxation burden in the EU. I don't believe it because I keep saying to myself, I believe it because it's true.

Well, just off the top of my head, here's some of the tax burdens of the "party of low taxation" in the last 5 years..

- Yearly €40 Credit Card levy
- VRT
- Stamp Duty on Houses not reviewed since early 90's, people now paying on average €10K in stamp duty on their first house
- Increase of €40 to the TV licence fee in 2003
- 200% increase in cost of a 10 year passport
- Levy on wine's and spirits as well as VAT
- Introduction of new council charges

...I could go on. I also consider VHI/BUPA subs to be a Tax as we have one of the worst public health systems in Western Europe. If you've got a family, the €2,500 annual premium really isn't an option unless you're really a breadline case.

As you brought up OECD reports, how about the OECD report last year that puts us right at the bottom of the league for educational spending out of the 26 EU member states?
(http://www.politics.ie/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1307)

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Tommy Vercetti

Surely it would be in Labour's interest to have incompetant people in these jobs, thus helping their cause of winning votes? If Bertie sacks them all and replaces them with new improved models, why would we elect Labour/FG?

Victor

ReefBreak wrote:

Yet I have never been given any rational reason to vote labour, unless increased borrowing, taxation and a return to the outdated fiscal ineptitude of the 70s and 80s is something that I actually want. Yet this is what Labour actually proposed before the last election.

You forget it was FF that started the "fiscal ineptitude" by trying to buy elections.

- Stamp Duty on Houses not reviewed since early 90's, people now paying on average €10K in stamp duty on their first house

Not quite. There is no stamp duty on new houses. The rates have also been made more progressive.

- Levy on wine's and spirits as well as VAT

Hasn't excise on wine gone down (to bring it in line with excise on beer)?

I also consider VHI/BUPA subs to be a Tax as we have one of the worst public health systems in Western Europe.

And so are bus fares also a tax?

PH01

I thought there was a rule against this sort of propaganda peddled directly from political parties in this forum?
If there isn't then it'll only open the flood gates to this sort of thing.

Careful now.

bonkey

Fair point. I admit I hadn't noticed where it was linked from, cause I just scanned the thread previously.

gom - in future, if you're going to post something like this which is directly affiliated to one of the parties, please note clearly in the post that it is so. Same should obviously apply to all others.

jc

gom

bonkey wrote:

Fair point. I admit I hadn't noticed where it was linked from, cause I just scanned the thread previously.

gom - in future, if you're going to post something like this which is directly affiliated to one of the parties, please note clearly in the post that it is so. Same should obviously apply to all others.

jc

I was a bit cautious. So basically This kind of thing is ok if it is more explicit?
I would usually avoid posting something like this from a political party for such reasons but that fact that the Labour campaign in question is so unbelievibly populist and to be honest it could be a Tabloid Website at first clance. I'm very ashamed at the level Labour stooped too here

bonkey

gom wrote:

I was a bit cautious. So basically This kind of thing is ok if it is more explicit?

Not necessarily. We'd still judge it on a "case by case" basis. For example, if you weren't a regular(ish) poster here, but came in with a post-count of 0 and this was your first post, I'd have you marked as someone actively trying to "market" their political party which would merit a different response.

Then again, such ppl would never say something like :

I would usually avoid posting something like this from a political party for such reasons but that fact that the Labour campaign in question is so unbelievibly populist and to be honest it could be a Tabloid Website at first clance.

....so thats partly why its ok in this instance. (yes, you said it *after* the fact, but its still the impression I got)

jc

sovtek

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Three hundred million people can't be wrong....;)
Ummmm errrr ummmmmm...don't answer that!

Nickj

gom wrote:

I'm very ashamed at the level Labour stooped too here

Because you are a Labour supporter? Come on, Gom, pin your colours to your nose