Election Policies

Sizzler

I have to agree with Rabbitte who came out and said Bertie has totally contradicted his party's policies by offering the sun,moon & stars if relelected BUT I have to say FG are offering policies that are 5 years too late.
I dont think people who were shafted on property in the last few years are going to thank FG for closing the door after the horse has bolted.

Would people REALLY want to see Enda in power, scary in fairness. Akin to having Stan representing our football team and look where that has got us :eek:

ballooba

Sizzler wrote:

I dont think people who were shafted on property in the last few years are going to thank FG for closing the door after the horse has bolted.

That's one policy. Your own thread title is "Election Policies".

Fianna Fail are also calling for Stamp Duty reform.

Sizzler wrote:

Would people REALLY want to see Enda in power, scary in fairness. Akin to having Stan representing our football team and look where that has got us :eek:

Where exactly are you drawing the comparison between the two individuals?

Enda Kenny has completely turned around the FG party in the last five years. He has proven that he is a competent leader. He is an excellent public speaker. The main argument coming out of the incumbents is that they will provide stability. So does a dictatorship. Now that deserves a :eek:.

Sizzler

ballooba wrote:

That's one policy. Your own thread title is "Election Policies".

Fianna Fail are also calling for Stamp Duty reform.

Where exactly are you drawing the comparison between the two individuals?

Enda Kenny has completely turned around the FG party in the last five years. He has proven that he is a competent leader. He is an excellent public speaker. The main argument coming out of the incumbents is that they will provide stability. So does a dictatorship. Now that deserves a :eek:.

True I took the lazy way out and picked the most obvious one

He might have turned around the FG party but look at his predecessor, hardly a mountain to climb there ! I dont go for the excellent public speaker bit, has done fook all to impress me and I would cringe at the thought of that lad representing Ireland on the world stage!

I started the thread mainly because I think FG are using cheap antics to get a foot in, where they say they will do X, Y & Z but sure why wouldnt they! All their policies are obvious to the man on the street. And that doesnt excuse FF either, they had ample opportunity to correct some of the ills people now have to put up with, shoite health service, crime rates, property market getting ridiculous, rip off prices for shoite service, and what did they do? Fúck all !

InFront

You're right about FFPD messing up the health service, playing dangerous games with criminals, and the golden calf of the property market; but the only criticism that I can see of Enda Kenny (and it's not totally without basis) is charisma.

He may not be as cunning and charming as the current leader, but he does leave him in the dust when it comes to intelligence and integrity. I don't trust the FFPD leadership, they're the kind of guys you don't like leaving alone in a room (or a tent) with millionaire businessmen for fear of what they'd be getting up to.

What Kenny has instead of leaning back on excessive charm and spin, is integrity. I for one am not going to decide who I vote for based on their ability to hoodwink the public. I get the impression that Enda Kenny would make a very bad liar, and I think that's quite a reassuring thing, to be honest.

ballooba

Sizzler wrote:

He might have turned around the FG party but look at his predecessor, hardly a mountain to climb there ! I dont go for the excellent public speaker bit, has done fook all to impress me and I would cringe at the thought of that lad representing Ireland on the world stage!

He is a much better speaker than Bertie Ahern. He has a much more professional image too. He doesn't mumble or bumble through speeches he has neglected to learn off.

He did have a mountain to climb. There was too ways it could have gone, ruin or repair. People were talking about a reverse takeover by the PDs. Enda Kenny has done a tremendous job. Look at the number of people he got to come out and attend his pre-elections rallies. The hall was half full for Bertie's speech on Sat. Wait until you see Citywest for Enda's speech. It's a bold statement, but I'm prepared to go out on a limb here. The hall will be jammed!!!

Sizzler wrote:

All their policies are obvious to the man on the street. And that doesnt excuse FF either, they had ample opportunity to correct some of the ills people now have to put up with, shoite health service, crime rates, property market getting ridiculous, rip off prices for shoite service, and what did they do? Fúck all !

Well, that's the point isn't it. The dogs on the street know what's wrong but the government doesn't. It's not rocket science.

ballooba

InFront wrote:

What Kenny has instead of leaning back on excessive charm and spin, is integrity.

You have said this before and you are entitled to your opinion. I disagree though.

I believe Kenny has plenty of charm. When you see him talking to individuals there is definitely something there. They may not be in awe of him like they are of Bertie, but Bertie has been in office for ten years. He didn't have that charm when he took office. Remember Anorakman?

When Enda is elected Taoiseach he will gow into the role very quickly. There is no way Bertie could engage an audience the way he can. Gaining office will only add to his confidence and he will charm them all.

is_that_so

ballooba wrote:

He is a much better speaker than Bertie Ahern. He has a much more professional image too. He doesn't mumble or bumble through speeches he has neglected to learn off.

In general yes but not 100% true. He showed up at a Local Chamber Lunch I was at about a year ago, having neglected to read said speech and bumbled his way through it.Now he did know where he was but didn't give the impression of knowing anything about it. They all get caught like that. :rolleyes:

If this thread doesn't go back to discussing policies soon,I'll be locking it.

McSandwich

What are your opinions regarding the various proposals to reduce income tax?

Personally, I'd gladly accept higher taxes if it meant efficient well run health, education, justice, and (public) transport services. These things don't pay for themselves afterall.

ballooba

Personally, I think the tax cuts are a load of cráp.

The tax cuts announced by Fianna Fail at the weekend represent about €25 a month to a single person on the average industrial wage of €35,000.

Personally, I would not agree to higher taxes until the inefficiencies in the public sector are resolved and public sector pay brought back into line with private sector pay.

McSandwich

ballooba wrote:

Personally, I think the tax cuts are a load of cráp.

The tax cuts announced by Fianna Fail at the weekend represent about €25 a month to a single person on the average industrial wage of €35,000.

Personally, I would not agree to higher taxes until the inefficiencies in the public sector are resolved and public sector pay brought back into line with private sector pay.

Interesting, but we could be waiting a while for that to happen :mad:

If *our* publlic services were run efficiently then current tax rates would be more than enough, however a tax reduction could lead to an even lower standard of service.

sidneyreilly

Hi, new to this forum. Have any of them come up with a ralistic proposal for fighting serious crime? Not the usual nany state stuff that they come out with.

ballooba

sidneyreilly wrote:

Hi, new to this forum. Have any of them come up with a ralistic proposal for fighting serious crime? Not the usual nany state stuff that they come out with.

I have said before that I believe that crime needs to be tackled at an early age. There are too many people in their mid-teens coming before our courts the whole time with dozens of convictions.

Many of these kids have never been given a proper chance in life. You might say that circumstances don't dictate the choices you make, but when you grow up in these kinds of environments your choices are limited.

Social services need to be given more powers. I keep saying it but adoption should be legalised for children of married parents. Some are not fit to have kids. The kids should not have to be continually unsettled and moved from foster home to care and vice versa.

Education plays a part too. If these kids feel that they have decent opportunities and that they can get a proper education then perhaps there might be more uptake.

Youth Cafes etc. sound like a great idea to some people. Perhaps they do play their role in keeping kids occupied. What happened to sports though? Whether it's Football, Soccer, Rugby, GAA, Boxing, Swimming, Basketball, Tennis or any other number of sports. Kids complain about being bored, they should be too tired to be bored! We don't have a very high uptake of sports in this country and a limited number of sports are available to kids. There are factors there like the climate to be overcome.

The Young Offenders Institutions like those proposed by Jim O'Keefe and Billy Timmons (without the military drills) would help kids who do fall into crime to get out of it. They would learn to be active and by getting healthy be happier. They would also learn new skills which will stand to them in the real world.

With regard to serious crime, we cannot of course surrender to the current generation of criminals. We need a properly equipped police force with proper radios, clothing, protective clothing and we need to rethink whether our force should be armed. The Gardai do have good ideas here and often they do have ways and means. I think we need to listen to the GRA and AGSI to hear what they have to say.

sidneyreilly

ballooba wrote:

With regard to serious crime, we cannot of course surrender to the current generation of criminals. We need a properly equipped police force with proper radios, clothing, protective clothing and we need to rethink whether our force should be armed. The Gardai do have good ideas here and often they do have ways and means. I think we need to listen to the GRA and AGSI to hear what they have to say.

. The gards NEED proper training, particularly the ones that are currently armed (outside of the eru) before arming the rest! Has any of the parties put this up as an election promise?

ballooba

I believe one of the parties has proposed a Garda shooting range. They currently use Defence Forces facilities. I will look it up later.

Grudaire

The gardaí arn't the problem, it's the leniency of the judges, steal a few euro and you're in gaol, but rape and you're free even if convicted with a 'suspendid sentence'

ballooba

The judges can't put everyone in jail. There is no room. Prison goes no way to rehabilitate or reform people either. Under it's current form.

Most in prison are there for non-payment of fines. Which is tragic. Some alternatives would be good.

Grudaire

Of course the real problem is that we sit here complaining, maybe not even voting, people who complain should provide an alternative by going for election...

ballooba

I will be voting for the alternative government. They are offering alternative policies. One voice among 186 is worth nothing unless you get in behind a major party (or you are Joe Higgins ).

1. Lucinda Creighton (FG)
2. Ruadhri Quinn (Lab)
3. John Gormley (Green)

Dr Galen

i'll hold my judgement just yet on who'll get my vote til after the weekend. Never been one for party politics, so i'll have to weigh them all up in my area. But ivery very much doubt that FF will be getting it.

What worries me though is that, sure, we might not all agree on things here, but at least we make an effort to discuss and debate the topics of the day. I know of an awful lot of people both young and old who really have no interest, and more than likely will look at the FF manifesto, of keep it steady lads, and think feck it, why not and give FF ther vote......

K-9

nurse_baz wrote:

i'll hold my judgement just yet on who'll get my vote til after the weekend. Never been one for party politics, so i'll have to weigh them all up in my area. But ivery very much doubt that FF will be getting it.

What worries me though is that, sure, we might not all agree on things here, but at least we make an effort to discuss and debate the topics of the day. I know of an awful lot of people both young and old who really have no interest, and more than likely will look at the FF manifesto, of keep it steady lads, and think feck it, why not and give FF ther vote......

Equally the case where people won't even look at the FF manifesto, or FG/Lab/Green/SF etc. and just vote Green/SF as a protest vote.

K-9

April fools methinks! Mehopes:)

See below.

K-9

See, Dublin City Council are proposing to open bus lanes for SUV's. The thinking is "it's better to have them moving in traffic, than stuck in traffic". :mad:

upmeath

Sizzler wrote:

He might have turned around the FG party but look at his predecessor, hardly a mountain to climb there ! I dont go for the excellent public speaker bit, has done fook all to impress me and I would cringe at the thought of that lad representing Ireland on the world stage!

Horse shyt, he may be from the west but Enda Kenny's a proud and true Irishman, well-composed and a confident and captivating public speaker, not a Manchester United-supporting Dubliner with amnesia (Manchester meetings, wha, dedeinfacta?). Bertie has the piss torn out of him on national radio every morning and he deserves it. I cringe to think what the US, the UK and the rest of the English-speaking world think of him.
If Ireland was a bigger player "on the world stage" under Bertie's leadership, it would be "Ahernisms" you'd be getting chain emails full of, not Bushisms. The man is a fool, a Thundering Disgrace

ballooba

upmeath wrote:

I cringe to think what the US, the UK and the rest of the English-speaking world think of him.

Or the germans for that matter.

Chakar

Seanies32 wrote:

See, Dublin City Council are proposing to open bus lanes for SUV's. The thinking is "it's better to have them moving in traffic, than stuck in traffic". :mad:

Dublin City Council is ruled by an alliance of Labour, Fine Gael and the Greens. They call the alliance the 'Democratic Alliance'.:rolleyes:

Fianna Fail wouldn't have done that!

upmeath

Chakar wrote:

Fianna Fail wouldn't have done that!

No Fianna Fáil would have promised everybody an SUV so they could all sit stuck on the same road together, all day long, provided they bought a new house from one of their favoured developers, built by one of their favoured building contractors.

Chakar

upmeath wrote:

No Fianna Fáil would have promised everybody an SUV so they could all sit stuck on the same road together, all day long, provided they bought a new house from one of their favoured developers, built by one of their favoured building contractors.

What! Did you not get your SUV?

ballooba

Chakar wrote:

Dublin City Council is ruled by an alliance of Labour, Fine Gael and the Greens. They call the alliance the 'Democratic Alliance'.:rolleyes:

Fianna Fail wouldn't have done that!

Only a FFer would fall for such an obvious April Fool's. Are these the people we want running the country?

Chakar

ballooba wrote:

Only a FFer would fall for such an obvious April Fool's. Are these the people we want running the country?

When Seanies32 mentioned it, it was the first I've heard of it tbh.

ballooba

Chakar wrote:

When Seanies32 mentioned it, it was the first I've heard of it tbh.

On April 1st. You're a credit to your party.

Give yourself a pat on the back.