What did you think of the General Election results ?..

Paddy20

Personally, I am happy with the results, and they were as I expected ?..:) differing views welcome !.

P. :cool:

ctc_celtic

for Donegal NE

surprised Joe McHugh got so many votes, but i can understand his appeal.

Happy to see Nial Blaney got in.

Knew Jimmy McDaid wouldn't have as much support, as he though he would.
Don't know how he had any support, he'll never be a Minister again, he has one of the worst records in the Dial, and in the interviews he done last year, he said he was bored with politics and was going to retire, suddenly Blaney joins FF and McDaid is all interested again.


for the general outcome

happy enough, nobody else offered a good enough argument to take it from FF. I hope next time there might be a better choice.

nanook

as i said in another thread, leitrim has officially got no representitive in Dail Eireann. I think its a disgrace that counties were split.

Gillie

Very suprised really. Not sure if I am really disappointed though.

ednwireland

would have preffered to see one less ff in sw donegal i feel the 2 sitting tds are v complacent and really dont do much fo rthe county unless that second ff seat is gone - mind you i've only been here 10 years.

brianthebard

Unhappy that there is no labour rep for Sligo-North Leitrim. I think SF took Labour votes away. FG should've managed their votes and candidates better than they did.

Civilian_Target

ctc_celtic wrote:

for Donegal NE

surprised Joe McHugh got so many votes, but i can understand his appeal.

Happy to see Nial Blaney got in.

Knew Jimmy McDaid wouldn't have as much support, as he though he would.
Don't know how he had any support, he'll never be a Minister again, he has one of the worst records in the Dial, and in the interviews he done last year, he said he was bored with politics and was going to retire, suddenly Blaney joins FF and McDaid is all interested again.

Why are you so happy Blaney got in over McDaid? Just curious, because I've heard some really nasty stuff about the Blaneys and McDaid's cronies over the years...

for the general outcome

happy enough, nobody else offered a good enough argument to take it from FF. I hope next time there might be a better choice.

I dunno, I thought Enda was pretty convincing, certainly will be surprised if it's not him standing for Taoiseach next time too. But yeah, I think people were 'happy enough' to elect the same guys again, which was a bit of a shame.

Martyr

i'm not surprised FF got back in tbh, they're really incompetent, but they've got personality..and thats what counts..well, for me anyway :rolleyes:
as an irish person, i sometimes question the logic of people here.
there is so much corruption in irish politics, you couldn't make it up.

"ah sure, he's a top man..one of the boys, always good for a laugh" :P

he could've been a wife beater and a drug dealer pimp, and people STILL would've voted for him, just so long as he 'smiled every b@st@rd down' and told the general public how many zillions he would spend on this, that and the other, pure BS.

most irish people are complacent about everything..thats why nothing ever changes.

tuppence

Dissapointed too. What do these guys have to do? They've already given us some of the worse life expectancy in Europe (okay we have some personal responsibilities here !), build roads through national monuments and overrule a huge amount of public opinion in Mayo with the Corrib gas scenario.
Do suspect its the fear and greed factor. Also scared how they undermined the left winged parties and policies.
Does'nt bode well for prioritising the real issues ie the health and income inequalities as well as quality of life issues. They seem to think they have a mandate for more of the same...
Wheres our social conscience? There must of been alot of people 'talking out of both sides of their mouths" as the saying goes , as so many people were complaining and yet they still got back in!
The only decent thing was Michael McDowell getting ousted and Finian McGrath getting in over Ivor callely.:)

ctc_celtic

Civilian_Target wrote:

Why are you so happy Blaney got in over McDaid? Just curious, because I've heard some really nasty stuff about the Blaneys and McDaid's cronies over the years...


I dunno, I thought Enda was pretty convincing, certainly will be surprised if it's not him standing for Taoiseach next time too. But yeah, I think people were 'happy enough' to elect the same guys again, which was a bit of a shame.

wouldn't say i'm SO happy, i dont know alot about politics (first time i've voted in a long time, college and living abroad before), but i tried to listen to more this time around.
from what i've learned, blaney seems to do a lot of work for the county, also i think because he moved to FF, there was a deal done and he will be more likely to get a minister or deputy minister or something. i think that will help the area. i have heard negative things but never from a nutrual (is there such a thing), and i don't take the word or somebody who is a big supporter of another candidate.
i do know that he hasn't the greatest personality, but that might be just cause he's hasn't the gift of the gab, i met him once and he seemed ok, that was a good while ago and he wasn't just after a vote, (it was in work).

i welcome anyones comments on this, as its just what i think and not facts.
as for bad things being said about him, i dont think he would do anything negative for Donegal. again i welcome any other thoughts on this.

as for McDaid, when i was a teenager i working in a few pubs in the town and met him a good few times, i never really liked him, he was always very big headed and looked down on me cause i was only a floorboy.
then in the run up to the election i read more about his U-turn and about his record in the Dail. this just made me like him less.
also i heard he only ran cause he didn't want blaney to get a seat, this made me like blaney more.


as for the election in general, maybe FG could do a better job, probably a new party in government would make the important changes straight away, while FF will feel no change as they've been in power for ages.
but i'm happy enough with the country at the moment, i think the economy is booming and money makes me happy;) (i'm just an employee on average wage)

i hate the irish attitude that we have the worst this and the poorest that, show me a perfect country and i'll move tomorrow.
i have lived in the UK and i would bet the UK government wastes more money than here.

Martyr

i hate the irish attitude that we have the worst this and the poorest that, show me a perfect country and i'll move tomorrow.
i have lived in the UK and i would bet the UK government wastes more money than here.

why do we always compare ourselves with the UK?
why can't we be our own country, do things better than the UK..
its almost like ireland has this inferior complex, years of oppression?

this country could be so much better than it is with good leadership.

il gatto

The cost overuns on road building and other government projects in the last five years would have paid for all the hospital beds and school places the country needs. That should be reason enough to have FF out of government. The economy might be in good shape on paper, but 30% of the population is worse off than ten years ago, in relation to average industrial wage, and to be honest, when I did the maths, I realised I was making almost the same basic wage seven years ago, when a pint of Guinness was £1.75, spirits about the same, cigarettes less than £4, a house £80,000 and petrol 7?p a litre. I fail to see the country's general complacency with what they have gained through their own hard work. A small minority have gained far and away the most. Just because the media hammer home the message that we've never had it so good, doesn't mean it's true. Things may have improved in certain areas, but the wasted opportunity these past ten years to make use of this prosperity is criminal.
I also feel the media turned on the alternative government during the crucial last week of the campaign and I think the suspension of the Mahon tribunal was underhand (if something illegal took place, we should know before we vote, not when it's too late).
FG and Labour may not have had all the answers, but we're looking at haveing 23 out of 25 years of FF rule. That can't be good for Democracy.:(

Martyr

FG and Labour may not have had all the answers, but we're looking at haveing 23 out of 25 years of FF rule. That can't be good for Democracy.

yep, any wonder our politicians are corrupt, FF only answer to themselves.
good points il gatto!

a fish rots from the head down!

tuppence

Average Joe wrote:

why do we always compare ourselves with the UK?
why can't we be our own country, do things better than the UK..
its almost like ireland has this inferior complex, years of oppression?
this country could be so much better than it is with good leadership.

I reckon the Irish system under Fianna fail is moving towards America rather than Europe unfortunately. Sometimes theres good in every system if they'd bother not been so blind and learn the lessons from some of these other countries, eg in race relations and health care. We are still such a developing country and alot to learn. The main lesson seems to be one of accountability. With the level of richness and inequality theres too much at steak for government to pass the buck. We as a taxpayer need to demand more from them too.

Paddy20

We live in a small Country, which is peaceful with a stable economy. We should be grateful for that.

How would you feel if you lived in the Middle East, or numerous other Countrie''s' where there are so many indiscrimate bombs falling that your whole family could be wiped out overnight, and dismissed as " Collateral damage" ?..

God help us, I do not believe this will happen in Ireland, and as for corruption, that exists practically in every capitalist state on earth, while we appear to be trying to eliminate this, IMHO it is part of the human condition and will remain
so, unless someone invents a computer with morals and honesty to take over. I will settle for my home Country and County to live in.

P.:cool:

ctc_celtic

Average Joe wrote:

why do we always compare ourselves with the UK?
why can't we be our own country, do things better than the UK..
its almost like ireland has this inferior complex, years of oppression?

I used the example of the UK as its the only other country i've lived in. and Irish people always have and always will compare things with the UK as its our cloestes neighbor, they speak the same language, we know more about the UK than anyother country and our two countries are very similar.
its got nothing to do with having an inferiority complex, if there is people that wish we were more like the UK, then they are morons.

this country could be so much better than it is with good leadership.

I agree, but show me a party that could do it better, i have't seen one.

FG and Labour may not have had all the answers, but we're looking at haveing 23 out of 25 years of FF rule. That can't be good for Democracy

i though it was Democracy that has chosen this?

il gatto

Democracy is the right to choose, but if you keep choosing the same thing over and over, it gets sickening. We've had FF in power for so long, people have become afraid of change. Being free to choose doesn't mean we always make the right choices.
I think it's unfair that everyone has knocked the FG/Labour alternative because A. they don't have the expirience, or B. They don't "appear" to be up to it. Those parties have many people the equal of, or better than Willie O'Dea, Dick Roach or Mary Harney. If people the calibre of Richard Bruton and Pat Rabbitt are rated below them, I find it very strange.
As far as corruption goes, FG have only ever been instigated in the Lowry affair at national level. Practically all other corruption has been associated with FF. "AH, sure they're all the same" is the rather misappropriate response of people who neither know nor care.

Martyr

We live in a small Country, which is peaceful with a stable economy. We should be grateful for that.

thats a fairly patronising comment.. i'm not ungrateful, paddy, but i know that this country could do alot better for itself.
the main economy we have in this country is the construction industry.and it is not stable.

politicians are being paid an obscene amount of money to run the country, and they're not really doing it to the best of their abilities.most of them, only seem to be interested in making money for themselves.

I was out near falcarragh the other day, and i saw new houses being built beside a beautiful lake..who the hell gives permission to do that?
presumably the council, unless its being erected without permission.if thats the case, what are the council doing about it? and if not, why not?
why can't they do their bloody jobs? is that not what they're being paid to do?

The councils attitude to planning is something like.."alright lads, lets build another road near hughies land so we can increase the value of it.."

just like the new kilmacreannan autobahn..

as someone already suggested, donegal people love to complain, so what is the solution?
should we pick up a spade each,sack all the worthless hospital consultants, and start building a new hospital with the saved cash?

advertise in the local newspapers for gardai, start employing qualified road engineers into the council?
build bus lanes, and bike lanes for the future development of the letterkenny, with my bare hands? :P
what should we do?

don't complain? :rolleyes:
its almost a crime these days.

just as example of how incompetent local politicians and councilors are is the fact that letterkennys population has been growing, but the infrastructure hasn't..because those in charge don't have a clue what they're doing.too busy making money for themselves.

il gatto

Agreed Average Joe. There's a huge element creeping into Irish society which makes complaining about anything inappropriate and frowned upon. No matter how much the government squander, no matter how many lie on hospital trollies and no matter how many people live below the poverty line, the "economy" is good and "we've never had it so good". That's a load of b@llocks. I'm unhappy with the governments handling of money I've paid in taxes. If everyone else is happy with how the government have spent their taxes, well fine, but I'm not grateful for the way the government has wasted mine, so I feel compelled to complain as the vote of 60% of the electorate couldn't dislodge the wastrels.

Paddy20

Then if people are not happy, then maybe some of our posters, might like to form a new party, but I will not be holding my breath.

This a democracy, the people have voted and I for one am happy with the result, even though the Government has yet to be formed .

P.:cool:

ctc_celtic

Paddy20 wrote:

then maybe some of our posters, might like to form a new party,

great lets start THE INDEPENDENT BOARDS PARTY
to find a leader, i suggest all members drink a lot of water, then we find a very tall wall and the leader shall be the person who....:D

watch out FF

il gatto

Well ctc_celtic, it can't be any worse than the process the P.D.s have been using the last few years:D

R0ot

two words, Pissed off! :mad:

tuppence

We should all start some Co-Ops to provide the services,food, housing, jobs we want. There'd be no leadership problems and no need to worry about central governemnt for funding whoever might be on board. Has worked for teh farmers and the Credit Unions.
Til then hoping the Greens or labour as a long shot for current partnership.

K-9

il gatto wrote:

Democracy is the right to choose, but if you keep choosing the same thing over and over, it gets sickening. We've had FF in power for so long, people have become afraid of change. Being free to choose doesn't mean we always make the right choices.
I think it's unfair that everyone has knocked the FG/Labour alternative because A. they don't have the expirience, or B. They don't "appear" to be up to it. Those parties have many people the equal of, or better than Willie O'Dea, Dick Roach or Mary Harney. If people the calibre of Richard Bruton and Pat Rabbitt are rated below them, I find it very strange.
As far as corruption goes, FG have only ever been instigated in the Lowry affair at national level. Practically all other corruption has been associated with FF. "AH, sure they're all the same" is the rather misappropriate response of people who neither know nor care.

More a damning inditement of the opposition or alliance for change or Anybody But FF, or as the Greens their prospective partners in Govt. at the time said, FF Lite.

If one party is in power for 17/20 years well you can't blame them for that.

Civilian_Target

Hmm... I also don't know what you guys are getting so complacent about. I wouldn't like Ireland to turn into Germany, but if you want to see how the windfall of an economic boom should be spent, I encourage you to visit Berlin. We could be doing a whole lot better for ourselves, there's no excuse not to be.

K-9

The problem the oppsition wheren't offering anything like the Berlin Model, just more of the same and there was a big question about funding.

jimmycrackcorm

il gatto wrote:

The cost overuns on road building and other government projects in the last five years would have paid for all the hospital beds and school places the country needs. That should be reason enough to have FF out of government. The economy might be in good shape on paper, but 30% of the population is worse off than ten years ago, in relation to average industrial wage, and to be honest, when I did the maths, I realised I was making almost the same basic wage seven years ago, when a pint of Guinness was £1.75, spirits about the same, cigarettes less than £4, a house £80,000 and petrol 7?p a litre. I fail to see the country's general complacency with what they have gained through their own hard work. A small minority have gained far and away the most. Just because the media hammer home the message that we've never had it so good, doesn't mean it's true. Things may have improved in certain areas, but the wasted opportunity these past ten years to make use of this prosperity is criminal.
I also feel the media turned on the alternative government during the crucial last week of the campaign and I think the suspension of the Mahon tribunal was underhand (if something illegal took place, we should know before we vote, not when it's too late).
FG and Labour may not have had all the answers, but we're looking at haveing 23 out of 25 years of FF rule. That can't be good for Democracy.:(

If you actually look at recent road projects most are actually being built below projected time and budget. If you consider how much extra money has been ploughed into the health system over the last ten years then you'd realise that no amount of extra money can fix the public health system - at least not here in Ireland.

You might not have benefited much from the Celtic tiger but when I look around at the people I know, I see how much they have; but then they worked hard to get there also and the opportunities were there for them. I don't agree that a small minority benefited - the majority did otherwise we wouldn't be looking at all the service jobs being filled by foreign nationals.

I remember thinking I'd love to be able to buy a house when it was £50k and couldn't and then being able to afford to buy one a short time later for double that.

People returned FF because they want more of the same. And as for the Mahon tribunal - imagine the accusations of interfering in the democratic process if it had continued it's questioning during the election lead-up... We all knew that there were questions to be answered but we don't want that to distract from what the next governments job is.

As for the media turning on the alternative government, They played the line that the people wanted change until it dawned on them that that wasn't what people were actually saying on the doorsteps.

nanook

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

If you actually look at recent road projects most are actually being built below projected time and budget. If you consider how much extra money has been ploughed into the health system over the last ten years then you'd realise that no amount of extra money can fix the public health system - at least not here in Ireland.

You might not have benefited much from the Celtic tiger but when I look around at the people I know, I see how much they have; but then they worked hard to get there also and the opportunities were there for them. I don't agree that a small minority benefited - the majority did otherwise we wouldn't be looking at all the service jobs being filled by foreign nationals.

I remember thinking I'd love to be able to buy a house when it was £50k and couldn't and then being able to afford to buy one a short time later for double that.

People returned FF because they want more of the same. And as for the Mahon tribunal - imagine the accusations of interfering in the democratic process if it had continued it's questioning during the election lead-up... We all knew that there were questions to be answered but we don't want that to distract from what the next governments job is.

As for the media turning on the alternative government, They played the line that the people wanted change until it dawned on them that that wasn't what people were actually saying on the doorsteps.

Have to say I agree totally with this.

Paddy20

ctc_celtic wrote:

great lets start THE INDEPENDENT BOARDS PARTY
to find a leader, i suggest all members drink a lot of water, then we find a very tall wall and the leader shall be the person who....:D

watch out FF

I used to play that at school when I was a lad, but now unfortunately I am an old adult So none of that for me .

P.:cool:

il gatto

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

If you actually look at recent road projects most are actually being built below projected time and budget. If you consider how much extra money has been ploughed into the health system over the last ten years then you'd realise that no amount of extra money can fix the public health system - at least not here in Ireland.

You might not have benefited much from the Celtic tiger but when I look around at the people I know, I see how much they have; but then they worked hard to get there also and the opportunities were there for them. I don't agree that a small minority benefited - the majority did otherwise we wouldn't be looking at all the service jobs being filled by foreign nationals.

I remember thinking I'd love to be able to buy a house when it was £50k and couldn't and then being able to afford to buy one a short time later for double that.

People returned FF because they want more of the same. And as for the Mahon tribunal - imagine the accusations of interfering in the democratic process if it had continued it's questioning during the election lead-up... We all knew that there were questions to be answered but we don't want that to distract from what the next governments job is.

As for the media turning on the alternative government, They played the line that the people wanted change until it dawned on them that that wasn't what people were actually saying on the doorsteps.

The countless millions squandered for years before the Finance Commitee was set up to investigate was a travesty.
As far as the health system goes, if so much money has been poured into it, it's not a case of no amount of money being able to fix it. It's purely a case of bad management of expenditure, which the government, and the civil servents charged with it's management, and who are appointed by government, making a complete hash of it. Of course money can improve it, just not when they spent it incorrectly.
House prices. I too could afford a house the equivalent price of £100k, but that was 7 or 8 years ago. You couldn't buy a 1 bedroom appartment for €125k at the moment. Double that in alot of places. People have taken out huge mortgages over lenghty periods because they figure if other people they know can get by, they can too. The problem lies in the fact that if their friends bought a house five years ago, it was half the price. Our "boom" owes much more to the state of the German and French economies. Now that they are recovering quickly, interest rates are on the up and many people are in for a torrid time. The last government took alot of credit for the economy. I wonder will they still be playing the "safe pair of hands" card in five years time when it emerges they can do little to control things. Any economic boom which relies on the construction industry to the extent Ireland does, can only have a finite existance. Already many towns have more appartments and retail units than they can fill.
I don't feel I've benefitted much, but I am not just a begrudger. It is an economic fact that this government has overseen a widening of the gap between rich and poor. A fact the media were only too happy to report on up until last year. When the country is at it's richest ever, this smacks of A. ineptitude, or B. not giving a damn.
The Mahon Tribunal has been a stupidly expensive (Government backed out of reducing fees to solicitors and barristers only a few weeks ago) and lenghty mess. However, what little good it does is shedding some light on what people entrusted with power have been up to. If it emerges that Bertie Aherne did something wrong, it's inexcusable to hide this from the public, regardless of there being an election. That would just be his bad luck. If the information is there, it should be released, and not keep the public in the dark because of good sportsmanship and a fair fight and all that.
I feel the media helped swing opinion, but viewing of the media is very subjective. It's just how it appeared to me.