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

Corsendonk

ksimpson wrote: »

Agreed, don't get the Clare Daly thing either. Waste of a seat IMO. Lots of noise, but no substance.

That describes alot of Irish politicians from all parties! Wait until we hear they can't go ahead with the five point plan because they didn't realise how bad the situation is for Ireland even do they were invited to view the books and did.

Moving the subject on, two of the elected TDs are Cllrs, is co-opting still allowed and who is favourite to replace them?

The Scientician

ksimpson wrote: »

Agreed, don't get the Clare Daly thing either. Waste of a seat IMO. Lots of noise, but no substance.

Except as a councillor she has been very proactive in helping people in the community. So lots of noise, and lots of hard work. Maybe that won't translate well to Dáil Eireann but I suppose time will tell.

cathy01

My heart is broken for Trevor, he worked so hard.
Ah well.I dont know what hes going to do.Im trying to fid the courage to ring him.I suppose he will need time, and there would be a huge amount of cleaning up to do.Letters that would still need to be posted etc.
Sad times, but hey a change is as good as a rest.Lets see what heppens.
Cathy;)

dan_d

ksimpson wrote: »

Agreed, don't get the Clare Daly thing either. Waste of a seat IMO. Lots of noise, but no substance.

+1
Reactive towards everything, often without consideration of whether it's good or bad for an area - seems to just set up against anything new, regardless.
I don't see how she will achieve much, if anything, in the Dail.Doubt she'll last past the next election.

The Hill Billy

I've deleted several posts slagging off candidates. Just because the election is over doesn't give posters free rein to jump in & start being a dick.

If you wish to criticise someone that's fine, but no name-calling or other childish carry on.

HB

LeoB

Corsendonk wrote: »

That describes alot of Irish politicians from all parties! Wait until we hear they can't go ahead with the five point plan because they didn't realise how bad the situation is for Ireland even do they were invited to view the books and did.

This is the big fear, ah we didnt realise how bad things were, the figures look different now!!!

Corsendonk wrote: »

Moving the subject on, two of the elected TDs are Cllrs, is co-opting still allowed and who is favourite to replace them?

This is going to be quite important. Do we not have a list system here whereby if someone moves on they already have named people to step into their shoes? Maybe I am getting mixed up with M.E.Ps?

While Enda says they will abolish the Seanad which I am not so sure they will, so who replaces Brendan Ryan and other senators who have been elected a T.D this time

Chinafoot

Khannie wrote: »

Funny....he's the one guy who totally failed us when we had a problem in our locality and went to the politicians about it to see if they could help.

Who are you talking about there exactly? Farrell? Reilly?

Either or, neither of them did what Sargent did when he contacted the Gardai. He also let down a friend of mine a few years back when she had a problem. We all have our opinions on the local candidates and the voters have spoken when it comes to Sargent.

RobFowl

The voters have spoken all right and no matter how much any of us disagree or fail to understand why some candidates get elected that's democracy !

My late Nan swore by Charlie Haughey because he got her a house and he always got returned

Bertie topped the pool repeatedly partly for similar reasons ......

And Michael Lowry's tax issues haven't stopped him topping the poll again...

Some times politicians cannot sort out personal problems and we have to accept that, doesn't mean we cannot moan and refuse to vote for them though.

On a local note I was involved in a very difficult professional issue as a result of industrial action which badly affected people I work with. Despite it being an unpopular issue which would never get votes, Both Michael Kennedy and Trevor Sargent gave great support and helped resolve the problem. I and some very vulnerable people owe them both a great deal of gratitude.

Khannie

Chinafoot wrote: »

Who are you talking about there exactly? Farrell? Reilly?

Sargent.

Stella2010

Not one of them called to my house ( Balbriggan )- not one of them put a leaflet through the door.
The only ones who did call were canvessing for Clare Daly - that was a few weeks ago. They annoyed me by asking me to buy a newspaper !
Totally disappointed in all of them and their efforts made to rally support or answer voters questions in general.

Corsendonk

cathy01 wrote: »

My heart is broken for Trevor, he worked so hard.
Ah well.I dont know what hes going to do.Im trying to fid the courage to ring him.I suppose he will need time, and there would be a huge amount of cleaning up to do.Letters that would still need to be posted etc.
Sad times, but hey a change is as good as a rest.Lets see what heppens.
Cathy;)

Senate? Shane Ross thinks it will run a full term before scrapping. At leasts Trev doesn't spend his time on Twitter like the present Green senator that can't win a dail election. Not a slag just a fact.

Corsendonk

LeoB wrote: »

This is going to be quite important. Do we not have a list system here whereby if someone moves on they already have named people to step into their shoes? Maybe I am getting mixed up with M.E.Ps?

Aertel had today that Joe Higgins would be replaced as a M.E.P. for Dublin by Clare Daly in Brussels but considering she has got elected his second choice is Ruth Coppinger also on FCC. I think this would be great for the Irish educational system as she has been too unwell* in recent times to attend her teaching job but well enough to attend council meetings on sick leave from the Dept. of Education. Obviously teaching is more demanding than politics.

*(The comment about her been sick and able to attend council meetings is based on comments made to her by a fellow Cllr on the FCC broadcasts in DEC if verfication needed)

santry_goonshow

[/QUOTE]

My late Nan swore by Charlie Haughey because he got her a house and he always got returned

Bertie topped the pool repeatedly partly for similar reasons ......

And Michael Lowry's tax issues haven't stopped him topping the poll again...

Some times politicians cannot sort out personal problems and we have to accept that, doesn't mean we cannot moan and refuse to vote for them though.

[/QUOTE]

I am not picking on you or your nan here but this is precisely the reason that Irish politics is broken. If you check it out the house your Nan "got" off Charles Haughey was hers to have by statutory entitlement. If he actually did anything there was someone else down the queue that got screw*d out of their rights. Do you see a problem with either scenario?

Politicians in Ireland are notorious credit claimers. If you organise a litter clean up in your neighbourhood and they hear about it they might send you a letter saying they fought the Council to get the skips. If you work as a member of a club for years to get a clubhouse and do 15 fundraisers you will be pushed off the stage by the slimey b^st^rds including a few that were mentioned in this thread. I think North Dub was particularly bad as some of them from the same parties would do anything to upstage one another. Good riddance, but again. No names...

One thing everyone should do when they talk to a TD. Ask yourselves if the question you have isn't something you should be asking your Councillor, or better still pick up the phone or go to the CIC and figure out your rights instead of them telling you they got you a gift of a house (wink wink, nudge nudge)

santry_goonshow

...

LeoB

Corsendonk wrote: »

Aertel had today that Joe Higgins would be replaced as a M.E.P. for Dublin by Clare Daly in Brussels but considering she has got elected his second choice is Ruth Coppinger also on FCC. I think this would be great for the Irish educational system as she has been too unwell* in recent times to attend her teaching job but well enough to attend council meetings on sick leave from the Dept. of Education. Obviously teaching is more demanding than politics.

*(The comment about her been sick and able to attend council meetings is based on comments made to her by a fellow Cllr on the FCC broadcasts in DEC if verfication needed)

Excellent point. I heard this at work a while back. Is this the back scratching we hear Joe spurting about any time he is on with Pat Kenny or Marian Finucane? When he moaniing about political appointees and cronieis(?) m Well similar. But again this is just our silly system and maybe our list system for these things should always include an "Expert" from outside the political arena.




[/QUOTE]
My late Nan swore by Charlie Haughey because he got her a house and he always got returned

I am not picking on you or your nan here but this is precisely the reason that Irish politics is broken. If you check it out the house your Nan "got" off Charles Haughey was hers to have by statutory entitlement. If he actually did anything there was someone else down the queue that got screw*d out of their rights. Do you see a problem with either scenario?

Politicians in Ireland are notorious credit claimers. If you organise a litter clean up in your neighbourhood and they hear about it they might send you a letter saying they fought the Council to get the skips. If you work as a member of a club for years to get a clubhouse and do 15 fundraisers you will be pushed off the stage by the slimey b^st^rds including a few that were mentioned in this thread. I think North Dub was particularly bad as some of them from the same parties would do anything to upstage one another. Good riddance, but again. No names...

One thing everyone should do when they talk to a TD. Ask yourselves if the question you have isn't something you should be asking your Councillor, or better still pick up the phone or go to the CIC and figure out your rights instead of them telling you they got you a gift of a house (wink wink, nudge nudge)[/QUOTE]

Another good point but does this not all come back to our system or lack of a system which is fully transparent?

I agree on the house issue. The "Nan" was probably quite entitled to the house but like a lot of people back in 40s, 50s and 60s even to this day we didnt know our rights or how to go about getting what we were rightly entitled to and the politicans took the credit. The local housing issue is a matter for councillors and not T.Ds. However there is still a huge problem with people getting houses ho I would say are entitled to them but as the influx of people who are now on the housing list now means people with 2 kids have little or no chance of being housed and local councillors need to tackle this. Urgently but they are afraid as if they rock the boat they might not get the nod or wink when it comes to selection process for next election.

RobFowl

@ Santry Goonshow

I think you're missing my point entirely.
The three politicians I mentioned were a crook, a man being investigated by a tribunal and a tax cheat.
My point was that some people will vote for chancers for reasons which we may not understand but which in my family history was related to the worst of "parish pump" politics.

The Black Oil

Whatever about leaving cable ties on lampposts, why leave them on the ground?

Sizzler

I have to say I am absolutely ecstatic that Kennedy & O'Brien got tanked in GE11.

As a poster has said a few posts back, local TD's are notorious for hoovering up credit for any local projects or successess claiming to be instrumental in their completion. eg Michael Kennedy claiming credit for local schools all around NCD, as if these schools would had no hope without him, spare me :rolleyes: No doubt he would have also claimed credit (and probably still will) if the Metro north ever gets completed. Hilarious.

Quotes from him in the north county leader this week saying he was collateral damage from being associated with FF....crikey! As if he was some sort of innocent victim and nothing like his mates. if his beliefs were that strong there was nobody putting a gun to this head over the last 6 years making him stay with the party was there?

The people of NCD have spoken and I am sure the successful candidates will do their best and I suspect they might actually be more concerned with the state of the country as a whole rather than the tradtional parish pump bollox we have seen over the last 10 years. Onwards and upwards.

Well done to Alan Farrell as well for getting in, from what I have seen on here over the last year he is a hard working straightforward guy, best of luck

martinn123

I was amazed last night to find a dozen pot holes on our lane were filled in yesterday, including two outside my house.

Now you will all want to know which politician got them fixed.

None.

no one called on the canvass, and no empty promises were sought or recieved.

So maybe Fingal Co.Co have now decided to get on with their job, now that the old guard of FF politicians are gone

sdanseo

I see Darragh O'Brien got a Taoiseach's nomination to the Seanad, according to RTÉ. Apparently to replace Ciarán Cannon.

Will someone please tell me why a Taoiseach who has just been overwhelmingly voted out of power can cling on in such a way and make decisions like this?

Now I'm not saying Darragh doesn't deserve to be in the Seanad, he's an OK politician as they come - but in theory, can Enda reverse any such decisions after he becomes taoiseach and replace Biffo's nominees with his own?

Personally - and again no defference to the TD concerned - I see this as nothing more than a pathetic stunt by Cowen; he should let the incoming government fill these seats if he's able to do so. Or is it the case that they must be filed immediately?

Jimdagym

"thanks for the support in the confidence motion Darragh....."
http://www.ireland.com/news/ff-s-o-brien-appointed-to-seanad/597111

Former Fianna Fáil TD Darragh O’Brien, who lost his seat in Dublin North at the election, has been appointed to the Seanad by Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Mr O’Brien will fill the vacancy created by the election of Fine Gael’s Ciaran Cannon, a former Taoiseach’s nominee in 2007.

Some 11 nominees to the 60-seat Seanad are appointed by the Taoiseach, while the remaining 43 are elected through a number of vocational panels.

Sizzler

^ I am disgusted tbh.

The people speak and the BIFFO over rules them :rolleyes:

The sooner the seanad is abolished the better.

Saw this post elsewhere and thought it fairly summed it up.

http://www.politics.ie/3657563-post6.html

wow sierra

Seeing Alan Farrell get the last seat in Dublin North at Trevor Sargent or Darragh O'Briens expense was one of the lowest points of the election for me. It would be a shame if Darragh was lost to Politics. Considering that he is FF he got a huge support in Dublin north.

This is only a short term appointment until the election and when Enda can fill it with his own appointments. Until then I wish Darragh luck.

LeoB

wow sierra wrote: »

Seeing Alan Farrell get the last seat in Dublin North at Trevor Sargent or Darragh O'Briens expense was one of the lowest points of the election for me. It would be a shame if Darragh was lost to Politics. Considering that he is FF he got a huge support in Dublin north.

This is only a short term appointment until the election and when Enda can fill it with his own appointments. Until then I wish Darragh luck.

Agree with you 100%.

I have said for a while that I felt Darragh was among a new breed of politican who were coming to the fore in all parties. He would be a loss as from what I have seen of him and heard he is a very decent man.

As stated above this is a short term position. The Seanad elections are due to be held in April/May this year. The big problem I have with Seanad is its elected by an elite few people in our society. There have been some good debates in there and perhaps if it was give power and more scope we would see better legislation come forward more quickly.

Sizzler

wow sierra wrote: »

Seeing Alan Farrell get the last seat in Dublin North at Trevor Sargent or Darragh O'Briens expense was one of the lowest points of the election for me. It would be a shame if Darragh was lost to Politics. Considering that he is FF he got a huge support in Dublin north.

This is only a short term appointment until the election and when Enda can fill it with his own appointments. Until then I wish Darragh luck.

Hi Darragh

LeoB wrote: »

Agree with you 100%.

I have said for a while that I felt Darragh was among a new breed of politican who were coming to the fore in all parties. He would be a loss as from what I have seen of him and heard he is a very decent man.

As stated above this is a short term position. The Seanad elections are due to be held in April/May this year. The big problem I have with Seanad is its elected by an elite few people in our society. There have been some good debates in there and perhaps if it was give power and more scope we would see better legislation come forward more quickly.

Seriously? A new breed of politician? A man that backed BIFFO till the end and has been rewarded appropriately. Hes under 40 thats where the newness ends. He got what he deserved in the election,simples.com.

dsmythy

If Darragh O'Brien is some sort of new breed of politician then you would have thought running with Fianna Fáil would be a huge no no.

The Hill Billy

And we'll leave it at that.
The Politics forum remains open for further discussion of the aftermath of GE11.

HB