Limerick City GE 2016 Candidate videos

power101

Here are 1 min videos from every candidate in Limerick City excluding Michael Noonan ( The recording of these might have occurred while he in hospital in December etc)

http://www.rte.ie/news/election-2016/

James Gaffney - Green Party

http://desmondhayeslimerick.com/

Sarah Jane Hennelly- Social Democrats

Michael Noonan - Fine Gael - No Video 03/02/16

Willie O'Dea - Fianna Fáil

Kieran O'Donnell - Fine Gael

Jan O'Sullivan - Labour

Cian Prenderville - AAA

Maurice Quinlivan - SF

Poxyshamrock

Your man Desmond Hayes is running again as an Independent.

He was with Renua but then withdrew.

power101

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Your man Desmond Hayes is running again as an Independent.

He was with Renua but then withdrew.

He wasn't on Smartvote.ie/rte.ie so I presumed he had dropped out. Thanks for the correction, I've now added his personal website as a link.

Jofspring

power101 wrote: »

He wasn't on Smartvote.ie/rte.ie so I presumed he had dropped out. Thanks for the correction, I've now added his personal website as a link.

It was only announced today I think.

panda100

Good post Power101(I presume your running with a username like that! )

It would be great if someone could do something similar for the country too.

johnnyryan89

Who does everyone think will be the four TD's elected from Limerick City and who from the current four could lose their seat?

zulutango

I'd say only O'Dea and Noonan are safe. O'Sullivan and O'Donnell can't be too secure.

Quinlivan, Prendiville and maybe Hennelly are pushing up towards them.

I'll be voting for James Gaffney, the Green Party candidate, who is very good but most people won't be aware of him.

zulutango

I'd say only O'Dea and Noonan are safe. O'Sullivan and O'Donnell can't be too secure.

Quinlivan, Prendiville and maybe Hennelly are pushing up towards them.

I'll be voting for James Gaffney, the Green Party candidate, who is very good but most people won't be aware of him.

VikingG

yes think it will be Noonan, O'Dea, Quinlavin and a fight between O'Sullivan and O'Donnell for the last seat... which I think O'Donnell will win...

johnnyryan89

The second preference votes could be vital to O'Donnell, can be sure that a lot of people voting for Noonan will give him their second preference vote.

I think Noonan, O'Donnell, Quinlivan will get in but it's hard to call for the fourth seat.

zulutango

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

The second preference votes could be vital to O'Donnell, can be sure that a lot of people voting for Noonan will give him their second preference vote.

I think Noonan, O'Donnell, Quinlivan will get in but it's hard to call for the fourth seat.

You think O'Dea will struggle??

johnnyryan89

zulutango wrote: »

You think O'Dea will struggle??

Hopefully he does but I can't see it happening unfortunately. I ain't the biggest follower when it comes to politics but what is the deal with O'Dea and how he always seems to get re-elected? Do people really love the tash that much haha

zulutango

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Hopefully he does but I can't see it happening unfortunately. I ain't the biggest follower when it comes to politics but what is the deal with O'Dea and how he always seems to get re-elected? Do people really love the tash that much haha

He's a 'super-councillor', for want of a better term. He uses his resources as a TD to get small things done for a lot of people, and he does it effectively. It's not his job, but all politics is (unfortunately) local. We get the politicians we deserve, alas.

power101

Will be interesting to see if Noonan's revelation today that he had known about the abuse decades ago in the south east has any affect on his numbers.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan admits he knew about foster home abuse allegations twenty years ago

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057556981

Jofspring

On the radio today they mentioned that in the last election O'Dea lost 12,000 votes due to constituency changes but since then the changes have reversed and he now has them back or at least potentially has. I'd imagine he will get voted in. Politics is most certainly local and that isn't just an Irish thing. Many people have voted for the lad that helped them get the footpath outside the house sorted over the guy fighting for rights of the majority.

jonski

I used that smartvote.ie thingy and tbh was surprised with the outcome, but I do like the way they have entered the candidates answers so you can try and get an idea of who is thinking what .

I notice from the links above that M Noonan didn't bother with a video .

As for Willie, the one thing that I will give him credit for is that he is always there to face the public, I've seen him in my own estate on a few occasions in miserable weather, knocking on doors and talking to people . I haven't seen Noonan, O'Donnell or O'Sullivan since they were elected . Not that that is the be all and end all, and it won't be reflected in my voting, but it goes some way in explaining his popularity .

Smartvote says I should be voting Hennelly and the SD but I need to give that more thought as I hadn't even known of her before that .

jonski

I used that smartvote.ie thingy and tbh was surprised with the outcome, but I do like the way they have entered the candidates answers so you can try and get an idea of who is thinking what .

I notice from the links above that M Noonan didn't bother with a video .

As for Willie, the one thing that I will give him credit for is that he is always there to face the public, I've seen him in my own estate on a few occasions in miserable weather, knocking on doors and talking to people . I haven't seen Noonan, O'Donnell or O'Sullivan since they were elected . Not that that is the be all and end all, and it won't be reflected in my voting, but it goes some way in explaining his popularity .

Smartvote says I should be voting Hennelly and the SD but I need to give that more thought as I hadn't even known of her before that .

johnnyryan89

I never once saw Willie O'Dea down around my way apart from when we flooded I think he might have shown up but every man and his dog whose involved in politics and from Limerick was there to get their faces on telly or in the paper and we only live five minutes over the bridge from his place in Farranshone.

Jofspring

Didn't someone mention that the videos were probably filmed a few months ago. Michael Noonan was in hospital then so that could be the reason behind him not having a video.

Jofspring

Just did the smart vote questionnaire and it threw up some interesting results for me. A lot of the questions though had "the candidate has not answered this question yet", that was the only downfall I really saw. Other than that it's a great idea.

Parchment

Smartvote is interesting. The candidate i intended on voting for came up as my second choice.

johnnyryan89

Question for those better informed then me about this voting malarkey, does everyone give all the candidates a preference or just a first and maybe a second preference plus does it make a difference whether you give a preference to all the candidates or not.

zulutango

If you really don't like a candidate it's more effective to give them your lowest preference than no preference at all.

panda100

Parchment wrote:

Smartvote is interesting. The candidate i intended on voting for came up as my second choice.

Same with me. I don't think smartvote is very smart. Many of the questions are misleading or open to interpretation.
For example, one of the questions for me was 'should abortion only be legalised in cases of rape and/or incest'. I said No because I believe in free, safe legal abortion in all circumstances. However,my response also could be interpreted that I was a vehement pro-lifer.

Clareman

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Question for those better informed then me about this voting malarkey, does everyone give all the candidates a preference or just a first and maybe a second preference plus does it make a difference whether you give a preference to all the candidates or not.

It makes a HUGE difference not to give a vote the whole way down, if (for example) you only have 2 votes selected, once it gets to the third round your vote won't be chosen for any transfers.

jonski

panda100 wrote: »

Same with me. I don't think smartvote is very smart. Many of the questions are misleading or open to interpretation.
For example, one of the questions for me was 'should abortion only be legalised in cases of rape and/or incest'. I said No because I believe in free, safe legal abortion in all circumstances. However,my response also could be interpreted that I was a vehement pro-lifer.

Surely you should have answered yes then as the question didn't say 'only' .

Anyway, I'm guessing Smartvote is only there to give you an idea and maybe open your mind a bit to alternatives . I had never heard of Hennelly before I used it and she came out first on my list, still haven't seen or heard anything from her bar that video on the RTE site .

jonski

Clareman wrote: »

It makes a HUGE difference not to give a vote the whole way down, if (for example) you only have 2 votes selected, once it gets to the third round your vote won't be chosen for any transfers.

So if there was someone on there I really didn't want my transfer to go to I should leave them off completely ?

panda100

jonski wrote:

Surely you should have answered yes then as the question didn't say 'only' .

The question did say 'only' hence it being open to interpretation

jonski

panda100 wrote: »

The question did say 'only' hence it being open to interpretation

How right you are, it was at the start and I was looking for it at the end . How is it open to interpretation if it says only ? I have to go back and read the questions again , I thought they were fairly straight forward .

zulutango

jonski wrote: »

So if there was someone on there I really didn't want my transfer to go to I should leave them off completely ?

No, you're actually better off giving them your lowest preference. The reason is that if two candidates are neck and neck then that preference will determine which way your vote will go in the later counts.

panda100

jonski wrote: »

How right you are, it was at the start and I was looking for it at the end . How is it open to interpretation if it says only ? I have to go back and read the questions again , I thought they were fairly straight forward .

Because there are two very different types of people that would say no to that question. Those that , as I said, are vehemently anti-choice and against abortion in all circumstances, and those, like me, that are pro-choice and in favour of abortion in all situations, not just rape/incest.


Meanwhile in Limerick county.......

https://youtu.be/BV1lla0301w

Where is a facepalm smilie when you need one.

zulutango

panda100 wrote: »

Because there are two very different types of people that would say no to that question. Those that , as I said, are vehemently anti-choice and against abortion in all circumstances, and those, like me, that are pro-choice and in favour of abortion in all situations, not just rape/incest.


Meanwhile in Limerick county.......

https://youtu.be/BV1lla0301w

Where is a facepalm smilie when you need one.

Cringeworthy stuff indeed! Can we not rename County Limerick to something else?

jonski

panda100 wrote: »

Because there are two very different types of people that would say no to that question. Those that , as I said, are vehemently anti-choice and against abortion in all circumstances, and those, like me, that are pro-choice and in favour of abortion in all situations, not just rape/incest.

Indeed you are right , I was looking at it too simplistically .

Jofspring

Sweet Jesus that O'Donoghue song. That will definitely go viral anyway.

Clareman

jonski wrote: »

So if there was someone on there I really didn't want my transfer to go to I should leave them off completely ?

As has been said, you're actually best to put them down as far as you can, if you leave them off then your vote could be cast aside and another 1 (for them) chosen. There is a train of thought that in PR voting systems that you're better off starting at the bottom and working your way up to first in the voting. If you're interested in how it works and you're bored I'd recommend looking at some past elections and see how the transfers have gone in the past. For example, when you have an extremely popular candidate like Willie O'Dea he would be expected to "bring others with him", in 2007 he got well more than needed in the first count (~11k), in a perfect world he would have given all his "spare" (second choices) votes to another FF candidate who in turn would give their "spare" (third choices) to the other candidate. As it turned out only ~70% of his second choices went to FF candidates.

Elections are fascinating in my opinion, Limerick East has always been a great example of how local politics (in the guise of Willie O'Dea) doesn't always transfer to party politics.

Jofspring

I'm even more confused by the elections the closer it gets. Not one party to me is coming across as capable of running a country. It's all finger pointing and empty promises. I'd prefer if they had the balls to come straight out and say we need to stick together and come out with the best solutions all round and not continuously shout each other down and knock every idea the opposite party comes up with.

panda100

Jofspring wrote: »

I'd prefer if they had the balls to come straight out and say we need to stick together and come out with the best solutions all round and not continuously shout each other down and knock every idea the opposite party comes up with.

Yeah that annoys me a lot as well about politicians too. I find the debates a waste of time as there just shouting matches of buzz-words, meaningless retorts and empty promises. I would disagree with others on this thread in relation to preferences. There is only one person in limerick county that I would vote for (James Heffernan). The rest are so far removed from my own beliefs and values I wouldn't vote for them in a million years. I don't want my vote transferring to them in any shape or form.

zulutango

panda100 wrote: »

I would disagree with others on this thread in relation to preferences. There is only one person in limerick county that I would vote for (James Heffernan). The rest are so far removed from my own beliefs and values I wouldn't vote for them in a million years. I don't want my vote transferring to them in any shape or form.

Let's say there's three candidates vying for the final seat in the constituency -Nelson Mandela, Enda Kenny and Joseph Stalin.

Of the three, Mandela has the lowest number of votes, so he is eliminated. Now it's going to be either Enda Kenny or Joseph Stalin who will win the seat. It's Mandela's second preference votes that will determine the outcome. Both of those may be very far removed from my values, but bad and all as Kenny is, I'd still rather have him than Joseph Stalin. That's why you should vote for all candidates in order of preference.

power101

Jofspring wrote: »

I'm even more confused by the elections the closer it gets. Not one party to me is coming across as capable of running a country. It's all finger pointing and empty promises. I'd prefer if they had the balls to come straight out and say we need to stick together and come out with the best solutions all round and not continuously shout each other down and knock every idea the opposite party comes up with.

Social Democrats seem to be the only ones not trying to buy votes or making false promises.

zulutango

power101 wrote: »

Social Democrats seem to be the only ones not trying to buy votes or making false promises.

Don't know about that. They're promising an Irish NHS. Sounds like a pretty bold promise to me.

panda100

zulutango wrote: »

Let's say there's three candidates vying for the final seat in the constituency -Nelson Mandela, Enda Kenny and Joseph Stalin.

Of the three, Mandela has the lowest number of votes, so he is eliminated. Now it's going to be either Enda Kenny or Joseph Stalin who will win the seat. It's Mandela's second preference votes that will determine the outcome. Both of those may be very far removed from my values, but bad and all as Kenny is, I'd still rather have him than Joseph Stalin. That's why you should vote for all candidates in order of preference.

It works if you have a slight preference for candidates. To me, Patrick O'Donovan, Emmett O'Brien, Richard O'Donoghue, Niall Collins etc are ALL Joseph Stalin. There is not one of them I would prefer over the other. If I gave them preferences then if my first vote gets eliminated there is a real possibility that I could help elect someone that I really do not want to elect.

Anyways, its a step up for me even giving a first preference to someone in limerick county. I have spoiled my vote in the last two GE.

zulutango

panda100 wrote: »

It works if you have a slight preference for candidates. To me, Patrick O'Donovan, Emmett O'Brien, Richard O'Donoghue, Niall Collins etc are ALL Joseph Stalin. There is not one of them I would prefer over the other. If I gave them preferences then if my first vote gets eliminated there is a real possibility that I could help elect someone that I really do not want to elect.

Anyways, its a step up for me even giving a first preference to someone in limerick county. I have spoiled my vote in the last two GE.

The more effective strategy is to use your lower preferences to prevent the worst getting in. By giving somebody a sixth preference in a field of six candidates you're actually harming their chances, which is what you want, right? Admittedly, in Limerick County it's very hard to figure out who is the worst of a terrible lot.

There's a Green candidate there, by the way. Don't know much about him, but the Green policies are very good, in my opinion.

jonski

zulutango wrote: »

There's a Green candidate there, by the way. Don't know much about him, but the Green policies are very good, in my opinion.

Rightly or wrongly I was put off the Greens with their carbon tax on coal, putting the price of it up at the time of the recession when the poorest people use it to heat their homes . ( I am open to correction on this, as I get older I forget more than I remember ) . I understand the whole global warming crisis but it has to be tempered with not hitting the poorest in society at the worst time .

The above lead me to question a lot of their policies .

myshirt

I'm surprised to see a touch of bad sentiment for Emmett O'Brien. I met the guy and I found him very well clued in. He has a good grasp of issues. More importantly, I found the man solid in his take on addressing issues. Practical and viable solutions. I have no doubt he'd be a good man at getting people on board and influencing results. He's certainly credible, and a man of integrity and capability.

Forget about the general hoo-ha and disdain with politicians we all have, I know to an extent we're all worn out, but this guy is on the ball. I think he's a serious contender and a fantastic leader for his community, he has got a lot of people engaged and he is an honest guy.

He certainly didn't f#ck off out of the country when things got bad like Tom Neville. He stood by his community and sought to advance issues for people, individually and collectively.

panda100

myshirt wrote:

He certainly didn't f#ck off out of the country when things got bad like Tom Neville. He stood by his community and sought to advance issues for people, individually and collectively.

Couldn't disagree more with that. He personifies political careerism at its worse. Despite being completely aligned with their beliefs and policies, he left fianna fail at a time when it was a political savy move to make. He is fianna fail through and through but is masquerading as an 'independent'. I have found him to be very arrogant and dismissive in his response to individual issues.

How exactly did he stand by his community when things got bad?

myshirt

panda100 wrote: »

How exactly did he stand by his community when things got bad?

He did. He just didn't blow his trumpet about it. And I'm not going to blow the trumpet on his behalf either.

Linda Ledger in the city would be another of the same camp, works very hard for her community, not for the photo op.

Are you any way involved in your own community at all? I actually find it shocking you are not even loosely aware... gaa, soccer, policing, social housing, business development, social infrastructure, the lot. The man done trojan work for a long time in volunteering his skillset and providing leadership at times it was needed... it's no mistake he has a raft of supporters who support his candiacy.

The man is on the ball. I'll vote for him anyway.

peckerhead

A barrister with 'integrity'? Now I really have heard it all... :pac:

Edit: which is not to say I rate any of the other candidates more highly. But let's be clear —the man only left FF (where admittedly he is the 'wrong fit', to his credit) because they wouldn't give him the second nomination in 2014.

jonski

A debate between Sarah Hennelly, Cian Prendeville Willie O'Dea and Micheal Noonan on live 95 ( I think )

http://utv.vo.llnwd.net/o16/LIVE95FM/2016/02/11/CityElectiondebateFeb11.mp3

jonski

A debate between Sarah Hennelly, Cian Prendeville Willie O'Dea and Micheal Noonan on live 95 ( I think )

http://utv.vo.llnwd.net/o16/LIVE95FM/2016/02/11/CityElectiondebateFeb11.mp3

panda100

myshirt wrote: »

He did. He just didn't blow his trumpet about it. And I'm not going to blow the trumpet on his behalf either.

Linda Ledger in the city would be another of the same camp, works very hard for her community, not for the photo op.

Are you any way involved in your own community at all? I actually find it shocking you are not even loosely aware... gaa, soccer, policing, social housing, business development, social infrastructure, the lot. The man done trojan work for a long time in volunteering his skillset and providing leadership at times it was needed... it's no mistake he has a raft of supporters who support his candiacy.

The man is on the ball. I'll vote for him anyway.

I think most people in Limerick county agree with you and he will do excellently in this GE. I wouldn't be surprised if he won a seat. He certainly appears to be more popular than Tom Neville from what I've heard.

However, everything you described in relation to him is why I wouldn't vote for him. It points to all the makings of a Parish-Pump politician, they type of politics that has crippled democratic progress in this country. When it comes to national interest and the development of Limerick for the entire county population, i really couldn't care how involved he is in his gaa, soccer club or local community. Anytime I have seen him quizzed on broader, national issues he quotes legal jargon, I just find his constant referral to himself as a barrister quite arrogant.

To be fair, parish pump style politics is not just isolated to Emmett O'Brien, people in Limerick county tend to vote for very parochial reasons. I didn't go to school in Limerick county but from what I know of friends and family here, there must be very poor civic education in schools.

Also, for anyone interested in disability, equality or other social inclusion issues there is an 'Ask your candidate' event taking place this Friday. Facebook event here : http://tinyurl.com/z3k282w or more information available here: http://tinyurl.com/hcy9e2u

Jack Killian

jonski wrote: »

Smartvote says I should be voting Hennelly and the SD but I need to give that more thought as I hadn't even known of her before that .

Smartvote is poor; for example it has a question about "increasing corporation tax" which doesn't differentiate between increasing the "take" by making multinationals pay the 12.5% or actually increasing the 12.5% rate.

I've met and talked to Hennelly; seems streets ahead of the rest of what's on offer, and smartvote puts her as a 44% match to me (with Noonan & O'Donnell at 8%); not great to be so at odds with what's on offer, but factoring in the vagueness of the questions that could be a 50% match and that'll have to do, given that there are no other options that I can stomach.

There was a last-minute independent entry but I know nothing about him - a lecturer from LIT I think ? So I might have a #2 - will have to suss him out between now and Friday.