Virtue signalling gobdaw Michael Higgins puts his foot in it again

AllForIt

Michael D Higgins: President of Left Wing Politics in Ireland.

President of 'all the people of Ireland' as he put it himself, my arse.

The RIC supporters are really annoyed that Michael D isn’t a slave to their shtick. More popcorn.

John Doe1

That wee pretentious champagne socialist makes me cringe, the presidency should be scrapped.

Patrick2010

Michael D saying the government has failed the country for the lack of housing for its people, the same man who wants us to take in more refugees

Dempo1

I see he's made a statement of clarification and has submitted a Pooooem 🙄

Can't abide the man.

Thelonious Monk

Funny how they think the Prez is the second coming of Christ on Reddit Ireland but the middle aged anti-everything boards.ie crowd can't stand him

Dempo1

Reddit 😳 that's used to gauge Mickeys popularity, that's actually depressing.

mazdamiatamx5

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119202395#Comment_119202395

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119202316#Comment_119202316

There no consistency with that type of person. Did he genuinely do a new poem? I can't summon up the courage to read the updated media report, wouldn't be good for me blood pressure. Nothing other than "I am a virtue signalling eejit and I must stop sounding off on all and sundry lest I keep make a fool of myself again" is all I want to hear or read from him.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119202532#Comment_119202532

I was kidding but Normally Micky D can't let 30 minutes go by with the néed to recite a Pooooem, wether to himself or those unfortunate enough to be in ear shot.

Epic pain in the Arse.

elperello

This is the true gauge of MDH's popularity.

Less than 4 years ago he polled more than all the rest put together.

https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2018P&cons=194

griffin100

Millionaire landlord with a fake socialist persona who wasn’t shy about evicting tenants so he could sell one of his houses complains about the states housing policy. Odious little man. Should have stuck to being a second rate poet.

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119202684#Comment_119202684

Did you actually see the other candidates ?

Oh and you left out the little nugget that three of the main political parties all backed him and did not run any candidates.

His nearest rival was nowhere was pretty poor, but went from last to second just because he spoke the unvarnished truth about our over protected over excused not responsible for anything so called native ethnic group.

So away with your shyte about how popular he was winning the last presidential election.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119202791#Comment_119202791

Newsflash : Politics is a rough trade.

He won they lost.

822,566 first preference votes says it all.

Liberty_Bear

Rejoined Twitter recently to talk normal shite about movies, music , holidays etc. Sincerely though it has become a hot bed of virtue singalling "amnt I great as I am a vegan and donate to the cat shelter", I do get sick a little every time (not a fan of Vegans, I couldnt eat a whole one). In tandem with this though is the same names on all the trans threads repeating as nauseum how trans people are not the gender they identify etc etc. Both these positions are very similar in nature - one proclaiming the moral high ground over the other. Seeing middle aged men having coniptions over some supposed matter that is an affront to them or some Gen Z'er trying to be holier than thou. On the surface they appear the opposite however its just the exact same position - people roaring to claim one is more righteous than the other ...🙄

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119196028#Comment_119196028

The problem is that Higgins needs to listen far more than speak. He’s too political and eager to shout his mouth in a role thatis not appropriate for it.

carbuncle

president ‘3 pensions’ Higgins - soon to be 4. A socialist by all accounts that worries about the poor and disadvantaged

he did drop his salary from 320k to 250k when he was elected first but got a tad shirty when asked if his pension after 7 years of hard eating out would be based on the 250 or €320 - he refused to confirm.

he also said back then that he would not claim his 3 state funded pensions when in power, would not confirm if they would be forgone or the monthly payments would just not be taken and ‘saved’ for him until he retired from this job.

and just for those that don’t know after 7 years of eating out and no living expenses his pension for this job is 1.5 times salary (250 or 320, he won’t tell us) as a lump sum with the first 200 not taxed plus 50% of salary for life (so that’s 125 or 160, secret apparently)

he is in his second term, is it only the one presidential pension he gets? I’m sure it is but who knows really. The taxpayers are not allowed to know what the socialist champion of the poor gets

And as mentioned he sold his rental property, it was within 7 years of buying and thus satisfying the rules of the time that capital gains tax was not paid on the profit

maybe he donated the tax that he saved to the poor - or used it to pay for his own dog grooming

i think myself that perhaps 3 pensions should maybe campaign that politicians can only get one state pensioN - would that not be equitable?

it’s the lifting his head out of the trough to champion the poor that I hate

and remember these pension s are all paid from future taxation so work hard everybody

40% tax rate in Ireland kicks in for a single person at €36,800 - in the Uk (well England, a bit lower in a scotland) it’s £50k/€60k so €23,200 or so higher - with usc in Ireland on top of course

so at €17 per hour here any hours above 40 per week will see you lose over 50% in tax

anyway a bit of a rant, I am from scotland and here for 25 years and paid a sh*t load of tax Both myself and employees, I can’t vote in referendums or for president (here or in scotland) - I could earn €2,800 gross to get the €1,300 net in order to pledge allegiance to the president and become a citizen but no thanks

and for those that are about to say feck off home I do like this expensive wee country and have many friends (and a few employees) - it’s the hypocrisy and some would say unpunished corruption at all levels that does my head in

€200 a day ms zaponnie used to claim in un taxed expenses to go to ‘work’ against all the rules - nobody seemed to care.

Yurt2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203221#Comment_119203221

I've never quite seen someone with such an interest in another's pension arrangements.

Some people golf, some learn the spoons, and others...well others make use of their time in less mindful ways.

Brucie Bonus

As quoted elsewhere:

The President added: "Building homes is what is important.

“It is not to be a star performer for the speculative sector internationally."

Speaking to the Irish Mirror after hearing his comments, Labour’s Ms Moynihan said: “he’s right, it’s more than a crisis, it is a failure.”

Good man yourself.

The crisis is beyond politics. We need people calling out the failure that it is.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203151#Comment_119203151

You really think that I'd be better off bottling it up? 😀 Remind me never to employ you as my shrink!

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119202684#Comment_119202684

Over 50% of the electorate never even bothered to vote because the fix was in for the FF/FG/Lab candidate.

Regards...jmcc

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203492#Comment_119203492

55% of those who voted plumped for MDH.

He was the popular choice of those who got off their rear ends and went to vote.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203533#Comment_119203533

The choice of 24.18% of the electorate. Establishment candidate wins election where over 50% of the electorate didn't bother to vote. Ain't democracy wonderful?

Regards...jmcc

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203660#Comment_119203660

I'm sure you know the old Churchill quote about democracy so no need for me to repeat it.

He was in office for 7 years and went for another go.

Every one knew what he stood for and what they were getting.

He was the people's choice, end of story.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203789#Comment_119203789

The 2011 election of the Frontline president? And he decides to go "for another go". Over 50% of the electorate didn't vote. Higgins was the establishment candidate supported by FF/FG/Labour. FF and FG did not run their own candidates and supported Higgins. He was simply the establishment candidate.

Regards...jmcc

mazdamiatamx5

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203307#Comment_119203307

Would you prefer the great unwashed not pry into such details as the amount of largess politicians receive from us, the public?

mazdamiatamx5

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203398#Comment_119203398

The man is a former Labour senator and TD, ran with the approval of that party and has never repudiated them. And guess which party under whose minister the lowest ever number of social housing units were built? I'll make it easy for you, here is a clue: https://www.alankelly.ie/

The Irish anti-labour party are part the problem he is criticising. As I and others said, the man's a prize spoofer and hypocrite.

tjhook

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119199116#Comment_119199116

To be fair, President Paddy Hillery showed what the presidency should be about. He wasn't from "my" party, but he stayed out of politics and protected our democracy when it mattered. There *is* a place for a president, but we need to decide whether we want the role to be about on-message soundbites or democracy.

elperello

You can only play the game by the rules as they exist not as you would like them to be.

MDH did and won.

There was no fix.

Yurt2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203873#Comment_119203873

The poster goes into the level of detail of when his house was sold and speculating on capital gains tax.

Where do you even start for looking for that information? And it appears he has it all on the tip of his tounge.

It's an odd way to spend your time that's for sure.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203932#Comment_119203932

There's this thing called Google.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/students-told-to-leave-so-president-higgins-can-sell-house-w9vq8gss0

Regards...jmcc