Meath East: General Election 2011 Thread

racehill84

Floppybits wrote: »

I noticed that this morning on the way into work. I know that Killian is not that popular in the Ratoath at the moment, I think he will be struggling to get elected. Plus the court case there a few weeks ago wont help him.

how isnt he populer in ratoath ??????
do u live in ratoath and r u from ratoath or move to????
and frm my sources i heard the court case is sorted
lok at wat he has done for ratoath in the last 12 yrs as a cllr

gmale

racehill84 wrote: »

in fairness to nick hes a gud worker for the people and has done alot for the ratoath ashbounre area . i would like him to take the the seat mary wallace had and held since 1997 .both are get workers and should be thanked for wat they have done

Excuse my ignorance but what has he done that would classify him as a "gud" worker?

DB74

racehill84 wrote: »

in fairness to nick hes a gud worker for the people and has done alot for the ratoath ashbounre area . i would like him to take the the seat mary wallace had and held since 1997 .both are get workers and should be thanked for wat they have done

And there lies the problem with politics in this country.

Where do you think the country would be if we all voted for the Jackie Healy-Rae in our constuituencies?

It's time that the number of TDs was drastically reduced so that they can get on with the running of the country instead of wasting time getting potholes filled and bus passes for the locals.

Dubh Geannain

A good councillor certainly does not necessarily make a good TD. People need to recognise the difference.

Leave him as a councillor if he's so good for Ratoath/Ashbourne.

Also, Mother Theresa could be running but if she was under the FF banner, you can forget it. He's sullied by association IMO.

Skrynesaver

racehill84 wrote: »

in fairness to nick hes a gud worker for the people and has done alot for the ratoath ashbounre area . i would like him to take the the seat mary wallace had and held since 1997 .both are get workers and should be thanked for wat they have done

Mary Wallace and work in the same sentence, some mistake surely.

As for Killian he certainly does a lot for Ratoath but he's only running to try and prevent a second FG seat in the constituency.

On current polling it looks possible that ther won't be a single FFer returned in Meath East or West and I must say I'm delighted at the prospect

PauloMN

Slightly OT, but how come the Meath West election thread was moved to Politics but this one was left here?

Fiskar

PauloMN wrote: »

Slightly OT, but how come the Meath West election thread was moved to Politics but this one was left here?

I am the OP for the Meath West election thread and I simply asked the moderators of this forum to move it

irishh_bob

ive relatives in meath east and i know the constituency quite well , i have to say , its not one of the strongest constituencys for political talent , apart from thomas byrne , i dont think ive ever heard any of the other sitting TD,s appear in the national media and seeins as byrne will struggle to hold his seat and wallace is stepping down , is the constituency likely to elect a future minister ( of some kind ) in the next goverment , i doubt it based on the line up

mcwhirter

If FF get back in, it's true what they say, you get what you deserve..

pullandbang

Fiskar wrote: »

I am the OP for the Meath West election thread and I simply asked the moderators of this forum to move it

Why?

DB74

I noticed a few posters up for an indo today - couldn't see the name though - I was driving too fast!

gmale

irishh_bob wrote: »

ive relatives in meath east and i know the constituency quite well , i have to say , its not one of the strongest constituencys for political talent , apart from thomas byrne , i dont think ive ever heard any of the other sitting TD,s appear in the national media and seeins as byrne will struggle to hold his seat and wallace is stepping down , is the constituency likely to elect a future minister ( of some kind ) in the next goverment , i doubt it based on the line up

Hi, im not FF slagging but im new to the constituency, I know the parties and the party policies as much as the next man but I dont know the people. Can you explain why you consider Thomas Byrne to be politically talented?

Also, the other sitting TD, Shane McEntee, why is he not politically talented?

irishh_bob

gmale wrote: »

Hi, im not FF slagging but im new to the constituency, I know the parties and the party policies as much as the next man but I dont know the people. Can you explain why you consider Thomas Byrne to be politically talented?

Also, the other sitting TD, Shane McEntee, why is he not politically talented?

only ever heard shane mc entee on radio and he was always pretty weak , full of populist rhetoric , making sure to be on the right side of any local bone of contention you can name , never came across as a confident speaker either , as for mary wallace , never once heard her on radio or appear on tv

thomas byrne on the other hand is on tv and national radio every other day of the week , hes always articulate and comes across as experienced , should he get re- elected , i believe he has a bright future , mc entee will never be anything other than a backbencher , hes pure parish pump

INCONFIDENCE

If every member of the Fianna Fail party were loaded on a leaky boat I would volunteer to pull the plug. I have been listening to Thomas Byrne for a while and find him very impressive I feeel someday he will be Taoiseach. He speaks the truth and looks you in the eye . He is not like Slick Mick. I am greatly encouraged by him not being promoted after all why would a bunch of gomebeens let someone who is intelligent and truthful show them up.

Dubh Geannain

INCONFIDENCE wrote: »

If every member of the Fianna Fail party were loaded on a leaky boat I would volunteer to pull the plug. I have been listening to Thomas Byrne for a while and find him very impressive I feeel someday he will be Taoiseach. He speaks the truth and looks you in the eye . He is not like Slick Mick. I am greatly encouraged by him not being promoted after all why would a bunch of gomebeens let someone who is intelligent and truthful show them up.

If he's so intelligent why associate himself with such a Gombeen riddled party in the first place :rolleyes:

Wait a minute... is Thomas Byrne the son of Tommy Byrne a practising Auctioneer and Valuer by any chance?

http://www.thomasbyrne.ie/index.shtml
http://www.fiannafail.ie/people/tommy-byrne/

Looks like it:

Meanwhile, back in Fianna Fail Ms Wallace is joined on the ticket by young Drogheda solicitor Thomas Byrne. He is a son of Independent councillor Tommy Byrne, a long-serving member of Drogheda Corporation, and while this is Thomas's first election at any level, he is by no means an outsider, having been chairman of the Fianna Fail cumann at Trinity College.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/this-may-end-up-as-a-fianna-fail-wasteland-again-107320.html


I'm begging at this stage. Please, please, please no more Fianna Fail

Far be it for me to judge his capabilities. But I'd be far more impressed if he bet his own political path.

irishh_bob

i want to see FF replaced aswell but its impossible to discuss the canditates in this constituency without refering to a FF rep like thomas byrne

Dubh Geannain

irishh_bob wrote: »

i want to see FF replaced aswell but its impossible to discuss the canditates in this constituency without refering to a FF rep like thomas byrne

True. The red mist maybe descended a little too fast for me there. I probably should have said, not more praise for Fianna Fail or something along those lines

Just want to point it out to people. Don't be conned by a merchant of vapourware just cos he wears a shiney suit and talks the talk. Bertie being a good example of where that gets you.

gmale

Hmmm, confusion. Ok, I want to look beyond the personalities and the parties and actually look at the record of the people in the constituency.

There are 2 sitting TD's running, Thomas Byrne and Shane McEntee and 1 sitting Senator, Dominic Hannigan.

The following info was taken from the Oireachtas Committees Website. Not all the details of every committee is available so some of the info below may be inaccurate but I have tried to be as detailed as possible.

According to Thomas Byrnes Website he is working in the following committees. The question marks indicate a disparity between his own website and that of the Orieachtas website, i.e. that committee doesn't appear on the Oireachtas website.

• Convenor of the Oireachtas Committee on Social and Family Affairs
• Member of the Oireachtas Committees on Justice (?)
• Member of the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs
• Member of the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children
• Member of the National Forum on Europe (?)
• Member of the Finance & Public Service
• Member of the Justice, Defence & Womens Rights
• Select Committee on Justice & Law Reform
• Select Committee on Social Protection
• Select Committee on Finance & Public Service

Similiar Info on McEntee:

• Member of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Membership Committee
• Select Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

And finally, Hannigan:

• Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Membership
• Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee
• Sub Committee on Overseas Development

A few questions come to mind from all of this. Why is Byrne on so many and McEntee on so few? What is the quality of their work on each committee? The answer to the 2nd question will take a lot more research, research I am not willing to do today.

INCONFIDENCE

Fianna Fail has some decent people who beleve in their cause. The fact the party is 99% gombeen and were hijacked by shiny suits with mucky mercs does not take away from the decency of people like Thomas Byrne. I have listened to wafling politicians for years and have learned to see beyond the spin and appreciate a straight talker Thomas Byrne is one. He must have made Slick Mick very uncomfortable when he choose someone not even elected as a party spokeman and overlooked him. His decency must be regarded with suspicion. Leave Bertie out of it he is not fit to wipe Toms arse

Dubh Geannain

INCONFIDENCE wrote: »

Fianna Fail has some decent people who beleve in their cause. The fact the party is 99% gombeen and were hijacked by shiny suits with mucky mercs does not take away from the decency of people like Thomas Byrne. I have listened to wafling politicians for years and have learned to see beyond the spin and appreciate a straight talker Thomas Byrne is one. He must have made Slick Mick very uncomfortable when he choose someone not even elected as a party spokeman and overlooked him. His decency must be regarded with suspicion. Leave Bertie out of it he is not fit to wipe Toms arse

Fine replace Bertie with Micheál Martin. I look at him and I'm reminded of the series V.

Thomas will have to row inline with the whip, when push comes to shove. Just because he's book-smart, he's still a Fianna Fáil candidate. And surprise surprise, his Dad works in property. The apple rarely falls that far from the tree IMO. Expect a nod and a wink in that direction if he held any sway whatsoever in the Dáil. We don't need any more property related incentives. Have people not learned a thing from the last decade :mad:

Do you think Michael Healy Rae is going to have entirely different values from his Dad? Barry Cowen from Brian. Were the Aherns all that different from each other? The Lenihans

As as I said originally. If he's such a decent guy, how has he not recognised the gombeenism, incestuousness and nepotism inherent in the FF party? Why doesn't he beat his own political path. We'd see then how much air time he'd actually get then.

Caveat: Don't get me wrong. Political Dynasties exist in other parties too. But they haven't had the same opportunities at the ruining of this country as FF.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0106/1224286878128.html

Dubh Geannain

Hi gmale. Back to our question about FG standing up to the ECB. Watching Peter Matthews on Vincent Browne last night gives me some renewed hope. Whether he gets elected and whether Enda and Michael Noonan or Richard Bruton heed him if he did get elected is debatable. But I continue to live in doubtful hope.

TurkeyBurger

INCONFIDENCE wrote: »

Fianna Fail has some decent people who beleve in their cause. The fact the party is 99% gombeen and were hijacked by shiny suits with mucky mercs does not take away from the decency of people like Thomas Byrne.

I've never met Thomas Byrne but there is no way that I will be voting for him. No way.

You say he is a decent guy and I have no reason to doubt you... BUT... you also say that some of the decent Fianna Fáil people believe in the Fianna Fáil cause. I believe that this would be the problem.

These decent people still, despite what Fianna Fáil have done to this country, believe in the Fianna Fáil cause. The fact that they align themselves with Fianna Fáil now and did nothing to stop their elected colleagues getting us into this mess lead me to my belief that they are not the solution that is now needed. Decency isn't going to fix this.

Hammer Archer

Good lad Nick :rolleyes:

DB74 wrote: »

I noticed a few posters up for an indo today - couldn't see the name though - I was driving too fast!

That'd be Sharon Keogan. Don't let the independent tag fool you. She contested the FF nomination but was beaten by Nick Killian and Thomas Byrne. Also a tax dodger as well Linky

TheChrisD

Right now I'm just sitting waiting for the massive flood of leaflets through the door, and possible cold-calling to the house by the candidates. Considering it's actually the first time I can vote in a general election, I'm not sure who exactly I want in, I definitely can't recall anyone on the list doing anything of note over the past few years to make me want to vote for them.

I'm sure my view will change over the next couple of weeks, but...

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Good lad Nick :rolleyes:

Jeez, not only on the double yellows, but in the worst possible spot for getting massively in the way of any potential buses that need to turn into that street to get back to the terminus :roll:

rpurfield

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Good lad Nick :rolleyes:


That'd be Sharon Keogan. Don't let the independent tag fool you. She contested the FF nomination but was beaten by Nick Killian and Thomas Byrne. Also a tax dodger as well Linky

i knew she was former ff didnt know about the tax dodging.as regards thomas byrne hes pretty fond of the populist quotes himself.he attended meetings of the rise campaign and said he would back them and not vote for any of the hunting stuff the greens were bringing through and then went and voted for it.now im a bit sketchy on it all because im nothing to do with rise i just got told from people that went to meetings but it really is a case of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds from him

Hammer Archer

I see Joe Bonner has thrown his hat into the ring as well.

nobberroadcrew

Apparently Gallagher is making a late surge.

Dostoevsky

It's really annoying me that certain candidates are using Oireachtas envelopes, and thereby saving a fortune, to send us their promotional material.

This morning we received one of these envelopes on behalf of Nick Killian of Fianna Fáil, who isn't even in the Oireachtas. Re-read that! The outgoing Fianna Fáil TD Mary Wallace decided to use her Oireachtas envelopes to promote him. That's what I'd expect from that crowd. What I didn't expect was Dominic Hannigan of Labour, a member of Seanad Éireann, to use his envelopes to promote himself. I'm going to give Hannigan a preference because I agree with his views on things like the Irish language and the need to fund the gaelscoil in Ratoath. However, I think he, like Killian, is giving himself an unfair advantage by using a state-funded posting facility to promote himself. This should be made illegal.

In contrast to this, this morning we received promotional material from the Independent candidate Joe Bonner, with a 55c stamp on the envelope.

Someone please tell me: how is this fair??

Dostoevsky

nobberroadcrew wrote: »

Apparently Gallagher is making a late surge.

I don't know the slightest thing about Gallagher. He hasn't called to my door. I find the Sinn Féin mantra of "We will reverse the cuts" insulting to our intelligence but I trust Fine Gael even less.


The Green Party guy, Seán Ó Buachalla is getting my No. 1. I thought he could do with my No.2 at the last election but the Independent whom I voted for then actually got more votes. We definitely need a new politics here, and having personally lived in Scandinavia I'd much prefer that sort of society to the mé féiner society based around London and Washington. And never in a month of Sundays will Fine Gael provide that radical, progressive new Irish society: in their political culture, they are much closer to Fianna Fáil than any other party is. €2.25 million Fine Gael received in corporate and other donations. Think about the political consequences for us of those donations; they have a lot of political debts to pay, and ordinary people are going to pay.

Dostoevsky

That rare being, the charming and likeable Blueshirt that is Ivan Yates, has made the following predictions about the Meath East constituency over on Newstalk:

2 Fine Gael (Shane McEntee & Regina Doherty)
1 Labour (Dominic Hannigan)

Does anybody know of any professional poll on the Meath East constituency?

In the audioclip on the above link, Yates says that it should be a battle for the final seat between Thomas Byrne of Fianna Fáil and Regina Doherty of Fine Gael. Is this basically telling people that if we want to keep a check on Fine Gael in Meath East, we have to give a preference to a Fianna Fáil candidate? (by all accounts Thomas Byrne is a very decent man; it'll just take me a long time to get over Ahern, McCreevy, ridiculous expenses and the rest of it)

Change the voting system!