General Election Thread - Mod Note - please read post #1 before posting

Frank Spencer

I was watching one of Trevor Sargent's election update videos where he was briefing his canvassers in the car park of Balbriggan train station. At the end his phone rings and he says something to the effect of "That's Cathy she must be wondering where we are".

Was that yourself Cathy?

The Hill Billy

I met Alan Farrell on Saturday in the Pavillions. I introduced myself as 'Hill Billy from boards', had a brief chat & was walking away before remembering to tell him my real name.

He's a nice chap & while I'm not a party supporter I wish him well in the election. (And before anyone starts crying "Bias!" - I wish several other candidates well too. )

tbh

Hill Billy wrote: »

I met Alan Farrell on Saturday in the Pavillions. I introduced myself as 'Hill Billy from boards', had a brief chat & was walking away before remembering to tell him my real name.

He's a nice chap & while I'm not a party supporter I wish him well in the election. (And before anyone starts crying "Bias!" - I wish several other candidates well too. )

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I bloody hate being in Dublin West! I'd definitely vote for AF, and was looking forward to meeting him on the doors. Not one canvasser, not even any leaflets through the door.

Also, Not voting for Joe Higgins doesn't feel half as good as not voting for Claire Daly :pac:

Frank Spencer

Hill Billy wrote: »

I met Alan Farrell on Saturday in the Pavillions. I introduced myself as 'Hill Billy from boards', had a brief chat & was walking away before remembering to tell him my real name.

He's a nice chap & while I'm not a party supporter I wish him well in the election. (And before anyone starts crying "Bias!" - I wish several other candidates well too. )

Saw that on twitter alright!

dan_d

How do people feel about Trevor Sargent?

He seems to be the best of the lot in my area. I'm not going to vote Labour, and with all due respect to Michael Kennedy, I doubt I'll be voting for him either. If he gets in, there's not much he can do as he'll be a serious minority.James Reilly sets my teeth on edge, although I know very little about his running partner, I will say that. Trevor Sargent resigned in the face of a "scandal" (though compared to some of the other things that have come out, his was quite minor), and he appears to be the only one with some kind of priniciples.

I know I need to do a whole lot more research...but what DO people think of Trev??!

The Hill Billy

dan_d wrote: »

How do people feel about Trevor Sargent?

For a 'balanced' view on Trev we need both Khannie's & Cathy's opinions.

tbh

dan_d wrote: »

I know I need to do a whole lot more research...but what DO people think of Trev??!

would definitely vote for him - from what I can see, the thing he resigned over was a case of him doing what he thought was right, and then holding his hands up when he was called on it - we need that kind of politician imo. I wrote to him to tell him that at the time, and he contacted me to thank me for lifting his spirits.

Wouldn't be a green party voter traditionally, but I do respect their principled stand.

dan_d

tbh wrote: »

would definitely vote for him - from what I can see, the thing he resigned over was a case of him doing what he thought was right, and then holding his hands up when he was called on it - we need that kind of politician imo. I wrote to him to tell him that at the time, and he contacted me to thank me for lifting his spirits.

Wouldn't be a green party voter traditionally, but I do respect their principled stand.

Hmm.That was my thinking.
I know they've got their ups and downs.Like any other party.
Anyway. Off to do some more research!!!

Peckham

dan_d wrote: »

How do people feel about Trevor Sargent?

I'll probably be voting for him, but only because I have stronger reasons not to vote for the other candidates. Am not best pleased that my vote will be going to the Green Party given their carry on in government over past few months (although I did vote for them in 2007), but he's the best of the weak selection we have in Dublin North.

Other than him, I'd love to vote Alan Farrell....but that's a vote for Enda Kenny as Taoiseach, so that relegates him down the list. Had Bruton won the FG leadership heave last year, Alan Farrell would be getting my #1.

Corsendonk

dan_d wrote: »

How do people feel about Trevor Sargent?

He seems to be the best of the lot in my area. I'm not going to vote Labour, and with all due respect to Michael Kennedy, I doubt I'll be voting for him either. If he gets in, there's not much he can do as he'll be a serious minority.James Reilly sets my teeth on edge, although I know very little about his running partner, I will say that. Trevor Sargent resigned in the face of a "scandal" (though compared to some of the other things that have come out, his was quite minor), and he appears to be the only one with some kind of priniciples.

I know I need to do a whole lot more research...but what DO people think of Trev??!

Naive but principled so less likely to be corrupt. Seems a good TD for Balbriggan area, he wasn't a great Minister for Horticulture before it was cut short but that said giving the lack of choice he would be in my top 3 even do I don't agree with all the tree hugging and bad science.

martinn123

I have to say I am dissapointed in the calibre of the candidates available to vote for in Dublin North.
Would have traditionally voted FF, but they are Toxic now so no vote there

FG, how many incomes does J. Reilly want. Property Developer, Landlord, Doctor, Farmer, and now probably a Minister. Not for me, and I never heard of his running mate

Lab. Ryan assumed he would inherit his brothers seat, in the last election and was dissapointed that he lost, but he did not put in the effort, has been in the waiting room, Senate, since and now puts himself forward, his running mate I have met, I am waiting 4 years for his reply to a letter regarding a planning issue in Lusk. So not Labour.

Socialist, Clare Daly did take an interest in a road closure issue in my area, and gave advice on how to deal with Fingal Co Co. However while Joe Higgins is a great orator I cannot support his ultra left wing solutions to the Debt issues. So no vote there.

Who is left, a few independants, will research their policies and see if anything of interest.

This is in my view the worst array of Candidates in a long time.

cathy01

Yes, that was me...Im getting some stick over it.:o
Like I aways said, I honestly love Trevor, he is decent and he works so hard, its unreal.Little things , playing Santa at the school Christmas party, turning up to EVERYTHING, he is more common than MRSA.:D
As a TD, he works very hard for North County Dublin, and has passion ,and believes in trying to do his best, he wont BS you.

Hauk

Is there a list of the NCD independent candidates available? I want to look at their policies.

Fingleberries

Hauk wrote: »

Is there a list of the NCD independent candidates available? I want to look at their policies.

Here is the list of official candidates with links to their Profiles, web sites and Twitter or Facebook where appropriate.
http://www.boards.ie/vote/constituency.php?c_id=13

Hauk

Fingleberries wrote: »

Here is the list of official candidates with links to their Profiles, web sites and Twitter or Facebook where appropriate.
http://www.boards.ie/vote/constituency.php?c_id=13

Thanks!

LeoB

dan_d wrote: »

How do people feel about Trevor Sargent?

He seems to be the best of the lot in my area. I'm not going to vote Labour, and with all due respect to Michael Kennedy, I doubt I'll be voting for him either. If he gets in, there's not much he can do as he'll be a serious minority.James Reilly sets my teeth on edge, although I know very little about his running partner, I will say that. Trevor Sargent resigned in the face of a "scandal" (though compared to some of the other things that have come out, his was quite minor), and he appears to be the only one with some kind of priniciples.

I know I need to do a whole lot more research...but what DO people think of Trev??!

I just cant take to the guy at all. There is something a little to smug about him. Have not seen much of him around Rush but I do know he is available at clinics. I do believe he is decent like a lot of the others and probably had to resign not because he wanted to but because the Greens had made a fuss over quite others making errors of judgment

After looking at John Gormley last night I think Trevor could improve on his current position. I felt Gormley was like a footballer throwing caution to the wind with 10 min left. Pity he didnt show the same fight all through his term in the Dail.

He will be outside my top 4

Carter12

I recently moved to Lusk and met Trevor for the first time last night and I wasnt impressed with him at all. Granted I dont know his history but I found he spoke over me and didnt listen to anything I was trying to say.

He will be down on my list

RobFowl

I don't really get the hostility towards James Reilly (and am involved in canvassing so am biased). He's in politics especially for health sector reform and made that clear when he first stood for election. He had a good team and will deal with local issues as well but the prime motivation for him is to get the health service working locally and nationally.

He has got another GP covering his practice so rarely works as a GP any more and his property interests are all from past investments. He is certainly not double jobbing.

cathy01

Hi RobFowl , I understand , its funny how one person sees one thing and another a completely different thing.For me,James Reilly is arrogant, to the point it nauseates me. I could never vote for him but as a fellow canvesser, I think its great that you believe in him so well.

Beasty

cathy01 wrote: »

I think its great that you believe in him so well.

Yep - there are a few around here that are "passionate" about certain candidates;)

dan_d

Unfortunately for James Reilly, he used to be my doctor, and while he was good and everything, I wasn't mad about him then....so it's kind of coloured my view a bit....:o

martinn123

dan_d wrote: »

Unfortunately for James Reilly, he used to be my doctor, and while he was good and everything, I wasn't mad about him then....so it's kind of coloured my view a bit....:o

He used to be mine as well, and he still uses my details address etc. to canvass by post for support, Xmas Cards and other stuff I do not want, please do not post that its the electoral register he uses as there are 4 voters in my house and only the one who used to be a patient, gets the unwanted mail.

Peckham

My discomfort with Reilly comes from the conflict between his previous role as head of the IMO, and his (likely) new role as Minister for Health. This doesn't sit right with me. As the owner of a reasonably large GP practice, he has a vested interest in the outcome of any future negotiations in this area. He may be able to split these roles and not let it influence any decision he makes, but it's not a gamble I'm willing to take.

Plus, he used freepost Oireachtas envelopes to send out election literature, and I don't like to see public money used in that way. Mind you, he's not the only one of our local TDs to have done this during the campaign.

Jimdagym

RobFowl wrote: »

I don't really get the hostility towards James Reilly (and am involved in canvassing so am biased). He's in politics especially for health sector reform and made that clear when he first stood for election. He had a good team and will deal with local issues as well but the prime motivation for him is to get the health service working locally and nationally.

He has got another GP covering his practice so rarely works as a GP any more and his property interests are all from past investments. He is certainly not double jobbing.

Hey rob,
I don't want to get into a slagging match, but I don't think dr Reilly can claim to be "in politics especially for health sector reform" considering his part in imb negotiations regarding doctors rates for medical card holders. It may have been true when he first set out, but I cant see that now.
Fair play to you for the canvassing rob. It's a tough gig (I'd imagine).

Mods, please feel free to delete this post if it's not in the *spirit* of the thread. Like I said, the last thing I want is to start a slagging match.

RobFowl

Jimdagym wrote: »

Hey rob,
I don't want to get into a slagging match, but I don't think dr Reilly can claim to be "in politics especially for health sector reform" considering his part in imb negotiations regarding doctors rates for medical card holders. It may have been true when he first set out, but I cant see that now.
Fair play to you for the canvassing rob. It's a tough gig (I'd imagine).

Hi Jim
Just to clarify James Reilly was head of the IMO GP committee in 1999 when the Government introduced the over 70's GMS cards (without agreeing this with GP's beforehand). James lead the committee and negotiated a very good rate for GP's for this particular card. He was on record at the time as saying he opposed it in principle as he felt expanding the income thresholds to include more low earners would have been a better use of the funds.
He was asked to stand for Fine Gael in 2007 and at that stage decided to enter mainstream politics with a view to changing the health system.
He had long since stepped down from any role in the IMO at that point.
Hope that clarifies things for you.
PS the health minister who agreed this contract was one Miceal Martin and he was happy it was a good use of taxpayers money at that time......

The Hill Billy

Healthy debate (pardon the pun) is what it is all about.

HB

The Rooster

I read in the Fingal Independent that the Dublin North candidates have been asked to take place in a debate on Monday night (21st).

Venue is the Wright Venue in Airside, kick off is 7.30pm. The format is that each candidate will have 3 minutes to explain why you should vote for them, and then it will be opened up for questions from the audience.

So far 7 of the 9 candidates have confirmed they are attending (all bar Farrell (FG) and the independent chap).

For those not able to attend the debate will be streamed live on Fingal Community TV (www.fctv.ie).

7 (or hopefully more) people is probably too many for a proper debate, but still I think its great to get them all together and it should be a useful guide for the many of us who are still undecided.

dubmick

The Rooster wrote: »

I read in the Fingal Independent that the Dublin North candidates have been asked to take place in a debate on Monday night (21st).

Venue is the Wright Venue in Airside, kick off is 7.30pm. The format is that each candidate will have 3 minutes to explain why you should vote for them, and then it will be opened up for questions from the audience.

So far 7 of the 9 candidates have confirmed they are attending (all bar Farrell (FG) and the independent chap).

For those not able to attend the debate will be streamed live on Fingal Community TV (www.fctv.ie).

7 (or hopefully more) people is probably too many for a proper debate, but still I think its great to get them all together and it should be a useful guide for the many of us who are still undecided.

No sign of the live stream on that page.

Also Ryan, Reilly, Farrell and Kennedy have not shown up. Poor show imo.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056187566

The Rooster

dubmick wrote: »

No sign of the live stream on that page.

Also Ryan, Reilly, Farrell and Kennedy have not shown up. Poor show imo.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056187566

It was there for a short time (with no sound ), then gone again. Hopefully they'll have a recording of it on at some stage.

Not surprised at Ryan and Reilly not showing up if the above report is true.
Surprised at Kennedy as I would have thought he'd nothing to lose.
Disappointed in Farrell. I was leaning towards voting for him. But as time goes on I'm less sure. I was hoping he'd give me a good reason.

Without any other information can only assume the no shows are afraid of being shown up on something.

Corsendonk

The Rooster wrote: »

It was there for a short time (with no sound ), then gone again. Hopefully they'll have a recording of it on at some stage.

Not surprised at Ryan and Reilly not showing up if the above report is true.
Surprised at Kennedy as I would have thought he'd nothing to lose.
Disappointed in Farrell. I was leaning towards voting for him. But as time goes on I'm less sure. I was hoping he'd give me a good reason.

Without any other information can only assume the no shows are afraid of being shown up on something.

Anyone else thinking the line up of candidates in Dublin North is pretty poor? There isn't exactly much of an alternative to voters and a disgraceful shortage of women candidates.

On the Pat Kenny show yesterday they examined the Dutch Health Model that James Reilly is pushing, apparently under the system Dutch Doctors are the best paid in the world........