I think its safe to say; Leo will go down as one of this countries greatest ever...

theballz

Thank you for everything Leo. We love you.

JL555

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Well when you analyse the competition Haughey, Ahern et al he may well be remembered fondly. Brought Ireland from bust back to solvent and presided over the biggest health crisis in 60 years while being part of a govt that introduced same sex marriage and legalised abortion.

Glaring failure is the absolute state of the HSE but we can all share that failure by being so accepting of it for a generation.

I think you'll find that the IMF/ bailout program brought Ireland from bust back to a someway fit state. I wouldn't be too quick to give FG all the credit. The bailout rules were quite strict and it didn't matter to me who was in government, it had to happen the way it did unless there was a decision to default on the loans. The national recovery coincided with international recovery and with so much FDI here it was inevitable the recovery would end being so strong (yes it was a worldwide banking crisis, not just an Irish one), yes it's true there was some shady goings on here, but again, not limited to Ireland, look at Greece, a complete basket case, Italy, another disaster.
I think the biggest failing of the government since 2011 is not enough reform in the health service

So Leo, while he makes an attempt at the soundbites, for me, hasn't really delivered in his time as Taoiseach and beforehand.

Pawwed Rig

Why do you think there is so much FDI in Ireland? The pressure to up the CT rate over the last 7 or 8 years has been huge but the govt stood firm.
Compare Ireland to the other countries who got bailouts and you will see how well we are actually doing.

CBear1993

Why isn’t this in after hours / daily one liners?

McMurphy

jmayo wrote: »

WTF.
Kenny took over in March 2011.
cowans government had to seek a €67.5 billion bailout in Nov 2010 from EU, EFSF & IMF.
The country was a fooking mess.

The government that came in 2011 faced the biggest economic problems this state have faced since the first government in 1922/23.

And Kenny was leader until Jun 2017 by which time a lot of the recovery was well on it's way.

So stop attributing stuff to the leadership of Mr fooking twitter.

From 2011 to 2014 he was minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.
What are his achievements there ?
From 2014 to 2016 he was minister for Health and please rmeind us what he did there ?
SFA.

He was then Minister for social protection for 1 year or so before becoming leader and Taoiseach.
I think it was around that time he spoke about caring about those that get up early for work.
He forgot about us fairly fooking sharpish, but I guess we are not on twitter and facefook enough.

And Kenny showed that sniveling eejit what real politics is like when he totally outmaneuvered him and that other backstabbing fooker from Meath when they tried to oust him as leader.

BTW you are right the state of HSE is down to all of us.
Because anytime anyone says anything or tries to dare shake it up, all the protected vested interests and the politicians in fear of them back down.

And, he didn't even win the popular vote to become leader. Coveney got twice as many votes as Varadkar.

His achievements are short in supply.

James Brown

quokula wrote: »

He moved the country forward overseeing a wave of positive social changes while many of our peers moved backwards.

He oversaw a strong recovery in the economy, improvements in public services and an increase in house building.

His government has weathered the Covid storm admirably, so far seeming to get the balance right on when to lock down and when to open up, in addition to doing very well on things like testing and PPE compared to most countries.

People expect politicians to be magicians who can click their fingers and solve everything overnight, not helped by those who like to stand on the sidelines throwing insults and pretending there are easy answers to complex problems, but in an imperfect world with limited resources our government has performed admirably this past few years.

He exacerbated the housing, homeless and health crises. He oversaw them all break records consistently.
His government followed medical advice thankfully but he managed a nice bunce for pals on private hospital beds.
People expect politicians to at least feign empathy and have some dignity. He never got Kylie did he? If you watch Varadkar being interviewed, anytime he's criticised he either gets in a bratty huff or acts like he couldn't give a f*** ala his movie quotes. A waste of time bit of an arsehole more interested in selfies.

bladespin

the speeches, even as a non-fan I'm loving them.

JL555

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Why do you think there is so much FDI in Ireland? The pressure to up the CT rate over the last 7 or 8 years has been huge but the govt stood firm.
Compare Ireland to the other countries who got bailouts and you will see how well we are actually doing.

Exactly, as I mentioned, Greece a fine example of how not to do thing. But as I say, I wouldn't be giving too much credit to FG, any government worth their salt would have stood against the CT scrutiny from the EU, and as you know we have had significant FDI here for decades. But Ireland is good for the EU, although small, it's considered a success story for the EU.

For Forks Sake

daedal wrote: »

Rents never fell during the recession matey

From Ronan Lyons rental data since 2006....


National:




Dublin:

Strumms

Bowie wrote: »

A waste of time bit of an arsehole more interested in selfies.

Truth. He is an arsehole, I was no fan of Enda, Bertie, and more besides but it was more to do with an incompatible and senseless manner of running the country whereby I just disagreed with what they did and aspects of their vision and running of the country.... with this fûcking prick it’s a whole different ballgame. He’s a sleazeball, he’s not in this job to do his best with the ordinary citizens in mind, front and center. He has proven that. Sound bites, photo ops is all he throws to pacify... he is a moneyman, an actor, he is for the money people at alll costs. Get rid.

Pawwed Rig

JL555 wrote: »

But as I say, I wouldn't be giving too much credit to FG

Kind of like Trump then. No credit for successes but plenty of criticism for failures.

The prudent approach worked well the last number of years. There was no FF spend spend spend or a SF tax tax tax. Prudent budgets are what have this country where it is (albeit somewhat enforced by EU rules).
IMO if they had fixed health and told the truth about homelessness they would be hailed as the best government in the history of the State

Quite possibly the greatest spoofer we've ever had lead a government.

Abysmal failure in each of his three prior ministerial positions and capped it off as an abysmal Taoiseach.

I would say good riddance but then I look at who's coming in the door.

_Kaiser_

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

Ok guys. Please explain why Leo has been so great/brilliant etc

- What has he achieved as Taoiseach?
- What did he achieve as a minister under Enda?

Is it just that he's down with social media, can quote movies in speeches and is good at being on the right side of trendy issues? Because those do not a good Taoiseach make.

The aqueducts?

Sanitation?

The roads?

Risingshadoo

I can't stand Leo. Sorry. He's such a smarmy bollix.

theballz

A great man. He is up there with Collins imho.

Strumms

theballz wrote: »

A great man. He is up there with Collins imho.

I agree, Joan Collins.

Madeoface

Strumms wrote: »

I agree, Joan Collins.

Or Ronan Collins .....

punisher5112

Greatest ever shoe boater and one that isn't actually doing what the people want but what his poxy Twitter followers would want....

Yeah great lad....

We voted, we end up getting worse then what we voted for and stick with him....

Topgear on Dave

Strumms wrote: »

I agree, Joan Collins.

The socialist TD or the English actress & author?

rom

For Forks Sake wrote: »

From Ronan Lyons rental data since 2006....


National:




Dublin:

It's doublin !

Strumms

Topgear on Dave wrote: »

The socialist TD or the English actress & author?

Actress, author and all round good dude.

Risingshadoo

And now Leo will be Tanaiste and minister for jobs.....we're fcuked.

Pawwed Rig

Risingshadoo wrote: »

And now Leo will be Tanaiste and minister for jobs.....we're fcuked.

Why? Jobs were the big success story of the last 2 governments.

Strumms

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Why? Jobs were the big success story of the last 2 governments.

Would you credit Leo with that ? Or would you put that down to the highly capable, highly educated, adaptable hard working workforce that are worldwide known for their ingenuity and multiple other qualities that has had the Irish workforce at the forefront of ‘go to’ workforce’s for businesses and industry for organizations all around the planet, tax breaks play a part too but in the main it’s us, the people.... and has been for businesses that have been setting up here for 30 plus years. Leo ? Last two governments ? :eek: no.

Beechwoodspark

A man absolutely obsessed with social media attention. Glad to see the back of him.

theballz

Sad to see him go. The country will miss him when he is gone.

B.A._Baracus

To hell with Leo :pac:
He's a politician. You'd have to be around him to know how good or bad of a politician he is.
For all we know he could be awkward as hell to deal with or get things done with.

Besides being a politician is for yourself. It's not about doing right to the people. It's about getting a good job with a good wage. You give the spiel of helping people, the country etc etc. Anything but.

So for those praising him (or anyone else) you may what to rethink the reality of things.
Sure what do they say about politicians? Wolves in sheep's clothing?

paddythere

He'll go down as one of the countries greatest ever dickheads

sameoldname

He's a middle of the road politician, which is why the left and right hate him equally. Once again proving that people on either extreme think more like each other than like the rest of us.

Barring any major scandal, I'd say history will judge him as one of the better ones.

Pawwed Rig

Strumms wrote: »

Would you credit Leo with that ? Or would you put that down to the highly capable, highly educated, adaptable hard working workforce that are worldwide known for their ingenuity and multiple other qualities that has had the Irish workforce at the forefront of ‘go to’ workforce’s for businesses and industry for organizations all around the planet, tax breaks play a part too but in the main it’s us, the people.... and has been for businesses that have been setting up here for 30 plus years. Leo ? Last two governments ? :eek: no.

In the main it is tax breaks. Don't be naïve. There are not even enough Irish people to take up the jobs hence the influx of labour from abroad and rising rents.

There is a portion of the Irish workforce that is adaptable and hard working but it is definitely not the majority.

Not sure where you get 'known for their ingenuity and multiple other qualities' as we tend to underachieve in innovation and invention and have no indigenous heavy industry to speak of.