Dublin West General Election 2011 [Mod note post #218]

The Waltzing Consumer

MOD NOTE:
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/ MOD NOTE
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First post:


With the election called for the 11th of March, who do fancy getting elected? In case you did not know, Dublin West is going from three seats to four seats. It is also possible that Brian Lenihan may not contest the election, given the amount of other FF TDs who are abandoning ship.

So the current three are:

1. Brian Lenihan
2. Leo Varadkar
3. Joan Burton

If Brian Lenihan does contest this election, my guess at the results will be:

1. Brian Lenihan
2. Leo Varadkar
3. Joan Burton
4. Joe Higgins

So, what other candidates do people know of, who do they like and who do they want to get rid of?

Nolimits

I'd like to see Joe Higgins get in, don't get me wrong I wouldn't like a whole government of Socialists but he to me, seems a really good man. In my experience he is a good man to go to if you ever have any problems and I generally think works hard for his constituents

joolsveer

If Labour run a second candidate is it possible for them to get two seats?

The Waltzing Consumer

joolsveer wrote: »

If Labour run a second candidate is it possible for them to get two seats?

If Brian Lenihan and Joe Higgins both run, I don't see Labour getting a second seat. If Lenihan is not running, then it is possible, but I would not have a clue who would have most support for a second seat. SF, Greens, Lab and FG will all be fighting for that seat, but none have any candidate that is as prominent as the current three and Joe Higgins. It is pretty outstanding that the three current TDs and Joe Higgins have very large profiles in national politics. Not many constituencies have all TDs so much in the limelight.

Obviously, current Councillors may have a shot. Here is the current list for Mulhuddart and Castleknock areas:

Ruth Coppinger (Socialist Party)
Kieran Dennison (Fine Gael)
Patrick Nulty (Labour)
David McGuinness (Fianna Fáil)
Michael O'Donovan (The Labour Party)
Eithne Loftus (Fine Gael)
Peggy Hamill (The Labour Party)
Mags Murray (Fianna Fáil)
Matthew Waine (Socialist Party)

athtrasna

Is anyone else sick of Joe Higgins running for election? He ran in the locals, and the Europeans in 2009, got elected to both and opted for Europe leaving us an un-elected Socialist on the Council. Same will happen in Europe if he gets a Dail seat this time...I don't think that's fair to the electorate.

The current 3 plus Higgins/Labour 2nd candidate would be my guess. Dennison and SF candidate aren't strong enough to upset the apple cart IMO.

Zaph

athtrasna wrote: »

Is anyone else sick of Joe Higgins running for election? He ran in the locals, and the Europeans in 2009, got elected to both and opted for Europe leaving us an un-elected Socialist on the Council. Same will happen in Europe if he gets a Dail seat this time...I don't think that's fair to the electorate.

I agree, and I'm a fan of Higgins. Unfortunately replacing an MEP or councillor with an unelected alternate is how it's done. If he didn't take up a Dáil seat there'd be a by-election.

I can't see Lenihan not running. He has designs on the party leadership and needs to be an elected TD first before he can even contest the leadership battle. I don't think there'll be any surprises in this constituency, it'll be Lenihan, Burton, Varadkar and Higgins. I actually don't like living here when it comes to election time as I can't stand any of the current TDs and I know they'll all be re-elected.

Kiwi_knock

It will most likely be the four mains one getting in. However Patrick Nulty of Labour is rumoured to be running so he could possibly get one of the seats. Fianna Fail have not yet decided on Lenihan's running mate but most likely it will be David Mc'Guinness. Could get a few votes in the Corduff area and its surroundings. It will be between Lenihan and Varadkar for who will top the poll, I suspect it might be Varadkar. Then Burton will be third and then a fight between Nulty and Joe for the last seat with Joe most likely getting it. Should be a very interesting campaign in this area, so many key players involved so it will be getting a lot of media attention.

Murt10

Don't forget we're taking in 1/2 of Swords now.

I have no idea of who or what is out there, except that there is a whole lot of people.

Gaspode

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

With the election called for the 11th of March, who do fancy getting elected? I

So, what other candidates do people know of, who do they like and who do they want to get rid of?

None of the above will be getting my vote as this part of D15 is inside the Dublin North West constituency! Must have a look around see who I'll be given to vote for, dont know any of them at this point!

ThisRegard

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

However Patrick Nulty of Labour is rumoured to be running

No rumours about it, he is running alongside Joan Burton.

Rigor Mortis

Zaph wrote: »

I agree, and I'm a fan of Higgins. Unfortunately replacing an MEP or councillor with an unelected alternate is how it's done. If he didn't take up a Dáil seat there'd be a by-election.

I can't see Lenihan not running. He has designs on the party leadership and needs to be an elected TD first before he can even contest the leadership battle. I don't think there'll be any surprises in this constituency, it'll be Lenihan, Burton, Varadkar and Higgins. I actually don't like living here when it comes to election time as I can't stand any of the current TDs and I know they'll all be re-elected.

IN fairness, and I'm not a big fan of the Socialist Party. the alternates names are published on the ballot paper and in national newspapers for the European elections.

athtrasna

How many people voting in the European Elections considered Higgins might run for the Dail again? Certainly it was obvious in the locals that he was also running for Europe at the same time and there was an expectation that he would take Europe if he got it. I don't think Alternates for Europe came into the minds of anyone who voted for him?

The Waltzing Consumer

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

However Patrick Nulty of Labour is rumoured to be running so he could possibly get one of the seats.

ThisRegard wrote: »

No rumours about it, he is running alongside Joan Burton.

Really? I would have thought Peggy Hamill would have gotten that. She is far far more experienced. Nulty might be okay in another four/eight years time, but he has very little experience at all. I know Leo was a first-time councillor when he ran and got a seat, but there is vast differences between the two.

Having checked electionsireland.org, last updated 7th December, it only lists the obvious four, three incumbents and Joe Higgins, and one other, which is SF Paul Donnelly.

oblivious

Brian Lenihan lost huge amounts of votes in the ongar area in the last election,it will be intesting to see how the governments mismanagement effets his vote

ThisRegard

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

Really? I would have thought Peggy Hamill would have gotten that. She is far far more experienced. Nulty might be okay in another four/eight years time, but he has very little experience at all. I know Leo was a first-time councillor when he ran and got a seat, but there is vast differences between the two.

Having checked electionsireland.org, last updated 7th December, it only lists the obvious four, three incumbents and Joe Higgins, and one other, which is SF Paul Donnelly.

From the man himself

......... I am writing to let you know that I will be standing for the Labour Party in the upcoming General Election alongside my party colleague Joan Burton...............That is why I am standing for election to Dáil Éireann.
I am asking for your Number 1 vote in this election and that you consider transferring your second preference to the Labour Party also.

Pineapple stu

I dont follow the party politics line and i always vote for the person who ive seen and heard of doing good in the area and worked hard for the people . That person for me is Brian Lenihan, for all he has gone through health wise and the unrest in the Dail he still has time for the people of his constituancy and it would sad to see him lose his seat just because of the anti FF vote. Varadkar to me seems to focus on the likes of castleknock etc and i havent seen or heard of him doing anything for the area im in. Joan Brutal in fairness as much as im not keen on her, ive heard she has done a few things for people maybe not in my area but her constituants all the same so she deserves a shot i suppose. Joe Higgins, he is just playing games at this stage and he doesnt know what he wants. He is the only candidate from his party in the area that has any chance of being elected anywhere so he runs for election in whatever election comes up just so the party gets a seat. This carry on of getting elected then giving it up so an unelected party member gets it instead is wrong, there should be a by-election if the candidate who wins the seat fails to take his/hers place.

iMADEtheBBC

Voting for national government because candidates have given the impression (or otherwise) of resolving local issues is one of the problems in this country.

If you vote for members of the Dail because they've done a good job in the area then you're part of the problem in my opinion. This is how we've ended up with the likes of Jackie Healy-Rae in the Dail.

We need an overhaul of the system: local politicans on local councils with actual power to deliver. Fingal is run by the county manager not the council. So every council election they are basically lying to you when they claim to be able to bring about change.
National politicians in the Dail, a reduced number of them and their constituencies should be so large as to make it impossible for them to pander to local issues to retain their seat.

Abolish state pensions. TDs will receive paid leave from their current employer, the state will backfill their position with someone else for the duration. Their job will be legally protected. It would be less expensive for the state to pay for temporary staff over 4 year periods than it would be to pay the ridiculous pensions we pay former politicians. The politician who takes leave from their job will have their job there when they have finished their public service. They will make their pension contributions just like anyone else. Self-employed ? Then you neeed to make your mind up: either you're a public representative or you're running a business. You can't have both. PAYE ? You can avail of up to 2 x 4 year terms in the Dail. (In addition to a maximum of 2 x 4 year local council terms).

Abolish all unvouched expenses. Run the expenses along private sector lines and put caps and per diems on the expenses that can be claimed.

Candidates for the Dail need to have served at minimum one 4 year term on local council. The same rules for leave-of-absence apply. Maximum 2 local council terms.

Dail salaries and comps & benefits benchmarked with the private sector and benchmarked against the salaries and benefits of politicians serving in similar sized constituencies across the EU. Incremental salaries based on years of service in local & national government.

The Dail calendar to be scrapped and run along the same calendar and holidays as everyone else in the state.

Full disclosure of all election funding. Brian Lenihan's first campaign was funded by the Law Library. How do I know he's not going to be impartial when making decisions regarding the legal profession? Why is it still unregulated and a monopoly?

Ever wonder why it took so long to deregulate the Taxi industry ? Do some research on the TDs who had a large number of taxi plates back when there were only 1974 plates for the entirety of Dublin.

Every wonder why pharmacy's are a monopoly? Ever wonder why you cannot go into a pharmacy (like in mainland Europe) and purchase "prescription" medicine over the counter at far cheaper prices ? Why spend €50 on a doctor's prescription ? Too many interest groups, too many lobbyists. I want to know who the TDs are beholden to.

Party funding: no more private contributions or fund raising. Political parties should be funded in the same way that the US incumbent presidental campaign is partially funded: on your tax return you select whether you want $1 to go to the fund to re-elect the president.
From your tax return you can opt for €10 per year of your taxes to go to fund political parties. You choose. They get the funding on a pro-rata basis with minimum funding levels being met first.

I'd start there. That's the sort of reform I want to see. Right now none of those candidates offer me nothing that I want to vote for. I don't trust any of them.

athtrasna

Going back to the Dublin West issues...the list of alternates for Europe are listed http://www.europeanelections.ie/Replacement_Candidates_Dublin_Constituency.html

Socialist Party
____________________________
1. DALY, CLARE

2. COPPINGER, RUTH

3. MURPHY, MICK

4. KEANE, DENIS

5. MURPHY, PAUL

No surprise there, but a good reason not to vote for Higgins IMO!

rich1987

Murt10 wrote: »

Don't forget we're taking in 1/2 of Swords now.

I have no idea of who or what is out there, except that there is a whole lot of people.

Higgins did very well in the Swords area in the europeans.

Lenihan will run and we will get the same 3 + Higgins

Pineapple stu

If you vote for members of the Dail because they've done a good job in the area then you're part of the problem in my opinion.

Rubbish, why would i vote for someone who couldnt give a fiddlers for the area ? They are my representatives in the Dail and is someone i could go to if i have local issues. Im not going to go to them if i have an issue on foreign policy or a problem with the HSE down i cork. I want the best person that can serve me well in my area , and not someone who has great ideas about national issues. Its Dublin 15 issues im more concerned with and thats where my/our TD's come in if a matter cant be resolved elswhere.
Shoud i vote for a candidate that may not do anything for me when i need then most just because they have great ideas about the national debt or on health care? They can do both once they get elected.

The Waltzing Consumer

iMADEtheBBC wrote: »

Voting for national government because candidates have given the impression (or otherwise) of resolving local issues is one of the problems in this country...big long rant with very little about topic at hand

Hi, can I ask you and other posters not to post huge essays about your political beliefs. There is a politics forum or political theory for that. I am hoping that this thread will just be about candidates for Dublin West, and your views about said candidates.

Zaph

Rigor Mortis wrote: »

IN fairness, and I'm not a big fan of the Socialist Party. the alternates names are published on the ballot paper and in national newspapers for the European elections.

That's true, but Higgins ran in both the local and European elections knowing that he was pretty much guaranteed a council seat and had a good chance for Europe. That meant that that he knew he'd secure an extra seat for the Socialist Party on the council. I'd say a lot of people would vote for Higgins because of his personality and wouldn't vote for any other Socialist party candidate, so it feels like he's pulling a fast one doing something like that.

jack presley

I got a letter in a Dail envelope from Joan Burton during the week. I wish she'd stop using tax payers money for posting stupid letter like this. Stick it onto a leaflet and get your supporters to deliver them. At least make it look like you're trying to save the us a few quid.

LostinBlanch

I wonder how long it'll be before we get a missive telling us plebs how Lenihan is still bravely fighting his disease and will bravely fight on for D 15.

Absolute crap, designed purely to manipulate the gullible into giving him the sympathy vote. The man is an embarassment to the country (worst finance minister in the EU for 2 years running). He is one of those fully responsible for the crap we're going through now . . . and all the worse crap we're going to have to go through. So anyone voting for him and his party will have to do so in the knowledge that they are supporting continued corruption, cronyism, sheer incompetence and arrogance that have brought us to where we are.

And as for his political nous, well he can't even persuade members of his own political party that he is leadership material after his talking out of both sides of his mouth before supporting BIFFO stunt.

Gaspode

iMADEtheBBC wrote: »

Voting for national government b.........

iMADEtheBBC, while you may have valid points, they are not necessarily local D15 issues. I've added a moderation note into the first post, please read it ahead of your next contribution thanks.

Gaspode

I've added some guidelines for this thread into the first post, can everyone please read these and abide by them so that thread remains on topic, civil, and worth contributing to.
Thanks
Gaspode

Pineapple stu

Just watch the carnage unfold after the budget. watch your taxes go up and the blame being put on FF. They will all say they will cut taxes etc but they will raise them the first chance that they will get. Its easy enough to fool the people into electing you into the government but its wont be easy to lie to them when you see what you are faced with and having to break all the promises you made while blaming FF. It will be a case of " It wasnt our fault " when in a years time the country is still in no better shape. If they make no changes to what the finance minister has put in place and it turns out that it worked and the country recovers they will in no doubt take the full credit for it even though they had done nothing towards it.
The sad truth is that neither FG or Labour has a clear cut solution or a business plan in going forward and apart from Lenihan none of the other candidates standing for Dublin West would change that.
If people want change then be sure that the person you vote for can bring about the change you want. All the oppostition parties say they can bring about change but none of them said it will be for the better.
Change of leadership YES, change of finance minister NO, not at this time.

athtrasna

I must disagree Pineapple Stu..but it's difficult to do that in the context of Dublin 15 alone...What I will say is that Burton and Varadkar have spoken a lot more sense in recent months than anyone in Government, including Lenihan.

I really can't see any other result in D15 other than the status quo + Higgins. The constituency is diverse enough in demography to bring in 4 different political types, fairly rare if not unique in the country I would think.

Pineapple stu

Leo gets caught out on Rte news He said that FF was only trying to save votes by the change in party leader but the presenter reminded him that Leo himself tried to do the same last year and failed. In a nutshell it's ok for FG to do it but not FF . Shows Leo and FG in their true light, they will say all these things against FF to discredit them but would and have done the same things themselves.
Is it right to try and oust people from their jobs just so that you can get that job? Im know thats how it works in politics etc but is it right morally?

Nevyn

Pineapple stu wrote: »

I dont follow the party politics line and i always vote for the person who ive seen and heard of doing good in the area and worked hard for the people . That person for me is Brian Lenihan, for all he has gone through health wise and the unrest in the Dail he still has time for the people of his constituancy and it would sad to see him lose his seat just because of the anti FF vote.

Well what has he done 'for the area'? and do you think Ministers should be going door to door? esp the Minster for Finance when the country is in the condition it's in?

Pineapple stu wrote: »

Varadkar to me seems to focus on the likes of castleknock etc and i havent seen or heard of him doing anything for the area im in.

I would say the same of Lenhian, who only ever appeared on my doorstep for the first time a few months ago and had not done so in the last 11 years.

athtrasna

I've lived in the area 7 years and have yet to see a politician on the doorstep. As a resident of a managed development, Burton and Varadkar have been active in helping clarify the position of management companies and what it means for owners and have been very good at keeping us posted on progress. The FG and SP councillors have been the most useful on issues in our development.

At the end of the day I will vote based on a combination of my situation and the national situation. I won't vote for Higgins for the reason I've already stated, and I know I'm worse off than I was in 2007 which is reason enough not to vote for anyone or any party who played a role in that.