Cullen Again after everything?

Avns1s

Seanies32 wrote:

But FG/Lab had even less seats than FF and only regained the position they had in 97. What sort of rejects are those? Or would you prefer FG/Lab/Greens who hold their own/PD's reduced to nearly nothing/Independents (not as a block) and SF. On the same argument Lab/SF/Ind's/Greens where rejected as well.

Same argument applies to FG as to FF.

I don't see any sense in this reflection on the 1997 election given that I seem to recall an election in 2002 and since that was the last test, surely improvement of position or otherwise, should be based on that not on any previous election.

Why don't you compare the FF position then to the 1977 election?

K-9

Avns1s wrote:

I don't see any sense in this reflection on the 1997 election given that I seem to recall an election in 2002 and since that was the last test, surely improvement of position or otherwise, should be based on that not on any previous election.

Why don't you compare the FF position then to the 1977 election?

Ok then. FG/Lab/Green/PD's/SF/Independents. All these groups bar FG and Greens who kept the same, lost seats in the election.

dodgyme

Ballybrickenman wrote:

He instigated improvements to the driving test system.
.

Oh ya that is why the list of people waiting is still going up even after dozens of cullen (look and photograph me I martin) so called initiatives. Oh and Waterford got looked after, the latter being you only argument. As for transport 21 what a laugh, when is he holding another photo shoot to announce it yet again.

ninty9er

Well Bertie has a soft spot for Cullen that no successor will have. Cullen is just bumbling in terms of his public persona, this may not be the case in terms of his work, but I do see where people are coming from.

e-voting will happen once the software is sorted...there is nothing wrong with the machines!!! AFAIK the machines are stored in the same place as our thousands of ballot boxes so the overall cost wouldn't be massively out of line. why does nobody complain about the cost of them!!

It's fair to slate him though as he doesn't ever seem as prepared as any other minister in the 29th Dáil. I'm not expecting great things out of DSFA, but maybe he'll just do what he's told and we could see some progress

Trotter

Akrasia wrote:

He's going to make a complete balls of it, and the consequences will be much more severe than just a bit of wasted money on voting machines

Hang on.. Cullen didnt bring in the E-Voting Machine plan.. Why is that his fault?

Cullen hasnt fixed the traffic problems in Dublin in 2 and a half years.. so I presume that makes him crap too? Jesus Christ himself would have issues fixing the transport problem in Dublin.

Cullen just isnt liked in the media.. and when people start taking the media as gospel then we are in big trouble.

Then again.. because theres a slight dislike in my post for people who tear someone apart based on what they read about him... then I suppose this becomes a rant to be disregarded too.

dodgyme wrote:

Also Mike I notice you are from waterford, the heart land of cullen support. perhaps you have the agenda to defend him because he probably looked after the constituency instead of doing his job as minister.

So because I'm from Waterford and disagree with you, I have an agenda too? Im not a FF voter.. I just think you're following a pre decided course based on what you read in the papers.

dancin

ninty9er wrote:

e-voting will happen once the software is sorted...there is nothing wrong with the machines!!!

did you actually use the e-voting machines? I did in 2002, and I can tell you they are very poor quality. If a bank were to roll out atm's of that standard, they would fill the branches with people looking to make withdrawls...
They are straight out of the early 80's, red led digits. buttons poorly laid out, and not sized correctly. For the millions they cost, they are a disgrace. I'd be sure that in 2002 many votes were cast in error due solely to these machines.
I'm not anti e-voting, and yes the machines did work in 2002. But no business in this day and age would even dream of deploying poor 80's tech in a public facing role. Why is e-voting any different. Surely for all the money it cost, better machines could have been bought?

dodgyme

Trotter wrote:

Hang on.. Cullen didnt bring in the E-Voting Machine plan.. Why is that his fault?.

He took responsibility for it when taking over as minister and made a mess of it, one which we are all still paying for. The Software was out of date by years and the storage of the machines is costing millions but of course it would be his responsibility no no!

Trotter wrote:

Cullen hasnt fixed the traffic problems in Dublin in 2 and a half years.. so I presume that makes him crap too? Jesus Christ himself would have issues fixing the transport problem in Dublin.?.

Cullen did close to nothing to improve transport in Dublin and seemed not to understand how to do this apart from bublin his way thru T.V interviews talking Sh*te and doing it in the 3rd person

Trotter wrote:

Cullen just isnt liked in the media.. .

or outside waterford it seems or by anyone

Trotter wrote:

Then again.. because theres a slight dislike in my post for people who tear someone apart based on what they read about him... then I suppose this becomes a rant to be disregarded too.

If you read the earlier post by ballybrickeen man he said he was biased so what are other posters supposed to do. Oh you are bias and have the neck to say it but expect no one will argue with you.

Trotter wrote:

So because I'm from Waterford and disagree with you, I have an agenda too? Im not a FF voter.. I just think you're following a pre decided course based on what you read in the papers.

I never mentioned the newspapers. Also why is it Micheal Lowry and Bev flynn get in even though the rest of the country cant understand how people voted for them. This is because of local supporters. So putting 2 and 2 together the fact you are from waterford and Cullen is elected there with good % of 1st perferences I think it is safe to assume the people of waterford support cullen alot more then the picture of how the people of ireland regard him. Which is why I posted "not Cullen again". The man is incompetent! oh that must be the papers fault oh ya. Any any of the policies cullen did go thru with were terrible, the constant backing of new PPP schemes and privatisation of speed camera. I wouldnt trust him to cross the road correctly

fly_agaric

Trotter wrote:

Jesus Christ himself would have issues fixing the transport problem in Dublin.

On the contrary I think that Jesus Christ would have no problem fixing the traffic (or transport) problems in Dublin.:)

Failing that, a few decent politicians truly committed to fixing said problems (as opposed to greedy people beholden to short sighted electorates who expect them to prime the old Parish Pump) might help!

Trotter

fly_agaric wrote:

On the contrary I think that Jesus Christ would have no problem fixing the traffic (or transport) problems in Dublin.:)

Failing that, a few decent politicians truly committed to fixing said problems (as opposed to greedy people beholden to short sighted electorates who expect them to prime the old Parish Pump) might help!

Dublin based people want the Dublin transport fixed by the minister.. thats fair enough. Whats wrong with people based in other parts of the country wanting things fixed in their areas too? Every minister looks after their own constituency.. its just a fact of life. Human nature is that you cover your ass to make sure you get elected again and keep your job. Thats not just cullen.. Every minister does and will do that.

I think some Dublin based people feel that Dublin far outweighs the rest of the country in general importance. It doesnt.. For anyone, their own local area is their "parish pump" and they want it looked after.. be that Dublin, Waterford, Kerry, Donegal.. Wherever.

RainyDay

ninty9er wrote:

e-voting will happen once the software is sorted...

And how will we know that the 'sorted' version of software is running on the machines (and not a version that has been 'sorted' to give a particular result)?

BBM77

dodgyme wrote:

Oh ya that is why the list of people waiting is still going up even after dozens of cullen (look and photograph me I martin) so called initiatives. Oh and Waterford got looked after, the latter being you only argument. As for transport 21 what a laugh, when is he holding another photo shoot to announce it yet again.

This is the kind of selective answer I have come to expect from you. You are ignoring the positives and twisting polices you do not agree with to seem like negatives. If anybody reads my posts on this thread they will clearly see that Waterford being looked after is far from my only argument in support of Cullen.

What is wrong with transport 21, there are various projects going on around the country that are part of transport 21.

I also notice that you did not clear up my feeling that you are from a constituency that has no minister. (Post #20)

dodgyme wrote:

Any any of the policies cullen did go thru with were terrible, the constant backing of new PPP schemes and privatisation of speed camera.

If you were to sack a minister every time someone disagreed with one of there polices, nobody would last a week in the job. Disagreeing is all this is. Are you trying to tell me that Cullen should be sacked because he pursued a policy you do not agree with?

RainyDay wrote:

Though it goes against all my principles, I'm actually starting to feel more than a little sympathy for Minnie Brennan. To be demoted not once, but twice, to make room for that tosser from Waterford must be hugely humiliating.

As a nation we had to endure the humiliation of tossers from Dublin directing gross amounts of government funds to Dublin with zero improvements to Dublin’s problems when better use and value would be achieved “down the country”. So you know what you can do with your Dublin is more important attitude.

dodgyme

Ballybrickenman wrote:

I also notice that you did not clear up my feeling that you are from a constituency that has no minister. .

My constituency has a cabinet minister. .....next!

BBM77

dodgyme wrote:

My constituency has a cabinet minister. .....next!

What constituency would that be?

dodgyme

Ballybrickenman wrote:

What constituency would that be?

Dublin 15 (or Dublin west on the vote forms)

Stark

Ballybrickenman wrote:

If you were to sack a minister every time someone disagreed with one of there polices, nobody would last a week in the job. Disagreeing is all this is. Are you trying to tell me that Cullen should be sacked because he pursued a policy you do not agree with?

It's more that he doesn't have a single policy that anyone agrees with.

CerebralCortex

Ballybrickenman wrote:

Somehow, I kind of expected you would. When someone disagrees with you, it’s a rant, I think that says it all!

You lookin for a fight?

BBM77

Stark wrote:

It's more that he doesn't have a single policy that anyone agrees with.

Is cutting road deaths a policy you don’t agree with?

Heinrich

Ballybrickenman wrote:

Is cutting road deaths a policy you don’t agree with?

Judging from the recent spate I would not be crowing success too quickly.

BBM77

Heinrich wrote:

Judging from the recent spate I would not be crowing success too quickly.

Transport is out of Cullen’s hands now, but I am sure ye will find some way to blame him anyway.

Stark

Ballybrickenman wrote:

Transport is out of Cullen’s hands now, but I am sure ye will find some way to blame him anyway.

He's just barely out of office. Unless something radical has changed since he left, I'm guessing the current state of affairs is still a result of his term in office. Perhaps Cullen was using his divine powers to reduce the deaths and now we don't have that protection.

RainyDay

Ballybrickenman wrote:

As a nation we had to endure the humiliation of tossers from Dublin directing gross amounts of government funds to Dublin with zero improvements to Dublin’s problems when better use and value would be achieved “down the country”. So you know what you can do with your Dublin is more important attitude.

Whoa, there cowboy. You might want to ease off on the steriods. I never mentioned anything about Dublin. But I would be interested in your source of data for the geographical spread of investments?

RainyDay

RainyDay wrote:

Whoa, there cowboy. You might want to ease off on the steriods.

1 week ban.
Attack the post and not the poster please.

Marcus.Aurelius

Ballybrickenman wrote:

Transport is out of Cullen’s hands now, but I am sure ye will find some way to blame him anyway.

Typical blaa-lander. If you could see the mess the M50 is in now, you'd kick Cullen in the jewels yourself. He doesn't have good policies, reducing road deaths isn't a policy, it requires a lot of good policies to achieve that. On that particular point, Cullen only instigated policies that would benefit himself or other FF cronies. The speed camera network has stalled, and is only a revenue source for the government. Martin Cullen is an out and out failure, that's why Bertie relegated him to DSFA. His hands are tied there, but he still remains a cabinet minister, so the blaa-landers stay happy, ignorant of what their beloved village idiot has done in real terms.

Trotter

maoleary wrote:

Typical blaa-lander.

Well if you're going to insult me and the other 100000 people in Waterford, you may aswell explain what you believe a typical blaa-lander is?

Is it someone who drives on 1930's roads to get to Dublin? Yes.

Someone who comes from an area deprived of investment for the previous 50 years? Yes.

Statements like "Typical blaa-lander" lead me not to want to bother discussing this perfectly good topic here.

kmick

i think we should keep Cullen. It should help get FF out of Power next time around. Mind you the type of people who are on social welfare tend not to vote so he should be safe enough for the next few years. He has been put out to pasture there Id say - I mean how wrong can you get giving out free money to people in need.

I understand your point about having a local representative looking after you for your own selfish reasons but really that's not what a minister should be worried about. Unfortunately that is the way it works in Ireland no one wants to rock the gravy boat. MCCreevy was the only man for making a decision and sticking to it. Even Cullen backed down on the e-voting. I would have respected him more if he stood his ground and told the begrudgers to take a hike. BTW I am from Cork not that it makes a difference.

mike65

Does this thread actualy serve any useful purpose? Note my place to say, but its little more than Thunderdome material.

Mike.

Rock Climber

I've got a stunning idea of what to do with this thread actually and before i do it,I'd like to remind all that getting personal will result in a ban if I see ye at it again.
Play nice.