How are our TD's doing?

Fenian Army

How would you rate our elected reps so far?


Here are our TD's:

Gerry Adams - Sinn Féin
Fergus O'Dowd - Fine Gael
Gerald Nash - Labour
Peter Fitzatrick - Fine Gael
Seamus Kirk - Fianna Fáil (automatically returned, he was the Ceann Comhairle)


I voted Adams #1 and Nash #2 and left it at that.

In the interest of disclosure I am a supporter of Sinn Féín. I'm from Drogheda as well.

Gerry Adams - I think he has done a good job, he has taken a bit of a back seat in recent times to the likes of Pearse and Mary Lou. He works very hard right across Ireland and has supported things like the Cottage hospital campaign among others... He has constantly highlighted the condition of the Lourdes A&E.

Fergus O'Dowd - I've never liked the man and after his handling of the Cottege Hospital thing, refusing to sign the pledge to try and keep it open and slating ordinary people as "fascists" my dislike of him has increased.

Ged Nash - Prior to the election I liked him and thought him a decent sort, however like most of Labour he has rowed back on all his commitments and also was an utter disgrace with regards to the Cottage hospital - I'll never be giving him a high preference again, I feel utterly let down.

Peter Fitzpatrick - I keep forgetting that he is a TD!! Done a good job with the Louth team however

Seamus Kirk - As a Fianna Fáiler I have no time for him.


What do you guys think?

locum-motion

I read that pledge yoke at the time; I can't remember specifically what it said now, but what struck me at the time was that the pledge seemed to be worded in such a way that it would have been 100% impossible for any Government TD to sign it, and 100% impossible for any non-Government TDnot to sign it. Effectively, it was therefore a completely meaningless document.

Fenian Army

The following are statments made by Deputy Ged Nash to the Drogheda Independent:

HSE deny ward closure: Wednesday July 29 2009

However, despite the assurances, Labour Councillor Gerald Nash has expressed his fears over the future of the ward at the Drogheda Cottage Hospital.
'With the Government-backed HSE recruitment ban in place, these essential staff will not be replaced, effectively resulting in the very real possibility that the HSE will close down a ward at the hospital.'
He said this would be 'a catastrophe' for the older people who depend so much on the excellent care and support provided in the cottage. 'Any closure of a service here will mean a very uncertain time ahead for these patients and the family. I am calling on HSE managers to be straight with patients and families and put in place the necessary measures to retain full current services at the hospital,' he added

Cottage unit closure is condemned: Wednesday May 19 2010

'Quite frankly, I am disturbed at this development,' said Cllr Gerald Nash. ' When the HSE starts using words such as 'reconfigure', the alarm bells immediately start to ring, as it is only one short step away from 'cut'.
'The respite care service is of enormous importance to families and patients alike and it must be protected and continuously improved.'

The following is a statement by Deputy O'Dowd before he went into partnership Government with Deputy Nash.

Threat of Closure hangs over Cottage Hospital: Wednesday February 16 2011

FG deputy Fergus O'Dowd said he is deeply concerned and describes the HSE statement as 'extremely ambiguous'. There are approximately 220 beds for elderly patients between the five Louth institutions which include St Mary's, Boyne View House, and St Joseph's in Ardee.
' They provide best healthcare for the elderly in the state and if the public want this to continue there is no way that the HSE should get away with closing them down,' he stated.

The pledge was as follows:

"“I pledge to support the maintenance of services at the Cottage Hospital in Drogheda and hereby place on public record my intention to oppose any moves to close the hospital or reduce services there. I pledge the people of Drogheda that I will vote against any measures aimed at closing the hospital and vote in favour of any proposal or motion put forward in the Dáil supporting the retention of public services and care for our elderly at the Cottage Hospital in Drogheda”

It was an attempt to get a concrete commitment from TDs to try and keep the cottege hospital open, why should they have been allowed to speak more empty words? We have had enough of them!

event

id say that between the lot of them they havent done a f ucking thing

useless to a man

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

And I'd say this thread is designed either as a SF party political tool or to cause a row.

I'd hope any TD is concerned with more than the Cottage Hospital in Drogheda!

Fenian Army

Noor Kind Tendinitis wrote: »

And I'd say this thread is designed either as a SF party political tool or to cause a row.

I'd hope any TD is concerned with more than the Cottage Hospital in Drogheda!

Wrong on both counts... it's designed to be a discussion hence why I laid my cads on the table and said I support SF but I was wondering what other local folk thought.

Of course they are, the Cottage hospital thing is just what sticks out for me.

The idea was that people would give a little paragraph on what they thought of each TDs performance like I did.

Lord TSC

I think pretty much every Louth TD will talk a big game, trying to tell as many people as possible what they want to hear, but are never going to actually be able to do anything about the larger problems here in Drogheda, Louth or Ireland....

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Fenian Army wrote: »

I laid my cads on the table and said I support SF

Freudian slip?


I was never a supporter of O'Dowd, but lately I have been impressed with his performance on the national stage.

I have seen great things from Nash locally (had never heard of him pre election)

Kirk is just biding his time to retirment.

Fitzpatrick just doesn't have the wherewithal and comes across as a buffoon.

Adams has shown he can't debate with the big boys and it's quite embarrassing to watch him during leaders question time ( compulsive viewing btw) and I've seen no action from him locally at all.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

I think pretty much every Louth TD will talk a big game, trying to tell as many people as possible what they want to hear, but are never going to actually be able to do anything about the larger problems here in Drogheda, Louth or Ireland....

Doesn't this apply to most TDs in all constituencies?

Fenian Army

Noor Kind Tendinitis wrote: »

Freudian slip?


I was never a supporter of O'Dowd, but lately I have been impressed with his performance on the national stage.

I have seen great things from Nash locally (had never heard of him pre election)

Kirk is just biding his time to retirment.

Fitzpatrick just doesn't have the wherewithal and comes across as a buffoon.

Adams has shown he can't debate with the big boys and it's quite embarrassing to watch him during leaders question time ( compulsive viewing btw) and I've seen no action from him locally at all.

Fat fingers more like!

Salvation

Peter Fitzatrick couldnt get out of bed to do duties in Dundalk barracks and is a total moron.

A celeberity elected for face and no action, he has the mental agility of a parsnip..

How that moron got in really baffles me..

As much as I'd love the Cottage Hospital to stay open forever, as I said before, unless the TDs (and general public) start putting the required amount of money into it to keep it open; it's not happening.

Surely signing something to say that you'll keep it open, when anyone with common sense knows it's closing, is giving the public false hope and indirectly dragging out a bigger lie to them?

If I were a TD I wouldn't have signed it.

TD's in this town seem to do very little, but that's because it seems to me that they're bombarded with nonsense the whole time. Keep the cottage open, remove the tolls, make us a city, etc. are things that aren't really worthwhile working on in my opinion.


I'd love to have a list of things that all the TDs are actively working on at the moment. I'd say most of it is silly stuff that'd make little difference even if it was successfully dealt with..?

Nesta99

As i see it politicians have little significant influence accross departments. LCH is all but closed with 20+ years of campaigning and TDs and parties coming and going. The strategy is to slowly erode and minimise the kickback from the consitiuents. We are all to blame as we forgive a govt as soon as their soft budget goes through in the final year of their term.
Peculiar to Louth people, rivalries between the towns have effected a divide and conquer situation in the past, for example, a reluctance from Drogheda elected reps, especially at local leve,l to support the campaign for the LCH in the belief that it would secure extra funding and services for OLOL - the result is an overcrowded, stressed facility almost entirely due to filling the gap of the LCH. There are numerous examples of Louth parochialism weakening our position with lost mutual benefit.

Back on topic now:o

Fitzpatrick may be a nice chap but is a PR own goal for FG - Fitzsplutter
who could listen to him in Daíl Éireann.

Adams i think hasnt done too bad when speaking in the Daíl what really can be done from the opposition benches.

Kirk is as said just passing the time away looking out over his beloved Darver complex.

Nash, well i know nothing of what he has done or is doing. He seems very low profile?

O'Dowd again like Adams i think speaks well but in an era of forced austerity he is powerless to do more than pay lip service and tow the troika line.

I have no party allegience myself.

calex71

feel some pity for O'Dowd to be honest, he is a decent man ... I'm no FG fan but he seems to get rolled out to defend them when ever a minister wants to dodge answering directly for an issue on RTE shows.

event

Salvation wrote: »

Peter Fitzatrick couldnt get out of bed to do duties in Dundalk barracks and is a total moron.

A celeberity elected for face and no action, he has the mental agility of a parsnip..

How that moron got in really baffles me..

no need for personal abuse now

speeding

Salvation wrote: »

Peter Fitzatrick couldnt get out of bed to do duties in Dundalk barracks and is a total moron.

A celeberity elected for face and no action, he has the mental agility of a parsnip..

How that moron got in really baffles me..

cowardly comments. Guy does his best and is actually very intelligent if you actually knew him. It's very easy to personally abuse someone on a forum like this big man.

Salvation

speeding wrote: »

cowardly comments. Guy does his best and is actually very intelligent if you actually knew him. It's very easy to personally abuse someone on a forum like this big man.

The Guy is a moron I watched him blag off duties to do football matches when men were doing 100 hour weeks, he is an incompetent moron, voted in because he is manager of louth.

He could'nt wipe his own arse if he tried..

Personal abuse he is also part of a government that are destroying the country and a party that came from a neo-nazi background...

Salvation

event wrote: »

no need for personal abuse now

Facts I know the moron my dog has more sense than that total idiot..

Fenian Army

I think he is a terrible td, he rarely even speaks in the dail and is just there to make up numbers

bitemybanger

Simple, personal abuse= infractions at the least followed by bans

event

i dont know the man and dont think he is doing a particularly good job, but i wouldnt say moron.

didnt he sell his business for a couple of million in the good times?

Lord TSC

Noor Kind Tendinitis wrote: »

Doesn't this apply to most TDs in all constituencies?

Yeap.

To be honest, I find myself taking to the polls more recently to vote not for who I want to get in, but to stop certain people I think are the worst of the bunch from getting in. I'd love if a politican came along I could really get behind but for now, I find it's trying to pick the best of a bad lot and trying to prevent the rest from gaining too much power...

highlandseoghan

Ged nash seems to be doing ok i think
Gerry adams i think is doing quite well
Fergus o dowd not a fan cant stand listening to him
Peter fitzpatrick i think is doing nothing at all
Seamus kirk is just waiting for retirement

Fenian Army

Peter Fitzpatrick TD
Has spoken in 35 debates in the last year — below average among TDs.
Has received answers to 3 written questions in the last year — well below average among TDs.


Gerry Adams TD
Has spoken in 283 debates in the last year — well above average among TDs.
Has received answers to 820 written questions in the last year — well above average among TDs.

Ged Nash TD
Has spoken in 32 debates in the last year — below average among TDs.
Has received answers to 254 written questions in the last year — above average among TDs.


Seamus Kirk TD
Has spoken in 47 debates in the last year — average among TDs.
Has received answers to 108 written questions in the last year — average among TDs.


O'Dowd
Has spoken in 84 debates in the last year — above average among TDs.
Has received answers to 0 written questions in the last year — Ministers do not ask written questions.


Of course they arent a measure of the quality of work but it gives you a general idea of what they have been up to.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Fenian Army wrote: »

Of course they arent a measure of the quality of work

Totally agree

but it gives you a general idea of what they have been up to.

Must disagree. Some you listed waffle constantly and contribute little in the process.

I'd put substance over quantity any day.

indiewindy

Gerry Adams is also the best local td at claiming expenses, serious amounts being claimed by Petyer Fitzpatrick and Ged Nash


Newly elected Sinn Fein TD Gerry Adams claimed the most out of all the Louth TDs with a total of €48,643.52 for last year. Deputy Adams is closely followed by Fine Gael’s Peter Fitzpatrick who claimed a total of €47,893.52.

Labour’s Ged Nash came third on the list with a total of €45,4678.95 while FF’s Seamus Kirk claimed a total of €37,490.62. Fine Gael’s Fergus O’Dowd was bottom of the list with a total of €17,484.58.

Fenian Army

Does Ged Nash or Fitzpatrick have constituency offices? Are there expenses vouched do you know?

indiewindy

Fenian Army wrote: »

Does Ged Nash or Fitzpatrick have constituency offices? Are there expenses vouched do you know?

They actually do have constituency offices. I think that the expenses being by them all is a disgrace. Almost €900 per week tax free:eek:

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Fenian Army wrote: »

Does Ged Nash or Fitzpatrick have constituency offices? Are there expenses vouched do you know?

Constituancy Offices or not have nothing to do with Expenses claims.

SF maintain they only draw the average industrial wage, so obviously they make up for it in expenses.

From 2001 to March 2010 Gerry Adams claimed in excess of €1Million expenses from Westminster without ever taking his seat. He's well used to bleeding the system.

Nesta99

Noor Kind Tendinitis wrote: »

From 2001 to March 2010 Gerry Adams claimed in excess of €1Million expenses from Westminster without ever taking his seat. He's well used to bleeding the system.

That was policy! Taking from the 'occupying' exchequer was legitimised and rolled out by certain Northern communities as a reason for welfare fraud also - a type of civil protest.

doncarlos

Only Nash has impressed me so far and only one I might vote for in next elections. And it takes a lot as a Dundalk man to vote for a Drog!

Fitzpatrick (whom I voted for) has been absolutely useless and a complete waste of a vote. Adams doesn't give too ****es about Louth and it's sad that people voted for him. Would have like Tomás Sharkey get a run as he is a local lad and would do his best for the county without having an agenda.