Bertie Ahern rejoins Fianna Fail

Cluedo Monopoly

Some interesting clips here...

https://twitter.com/Reunify32/status/1623990829005123584

Lewis_Benson

If there's one thing you can definitely say for bertie, it's that he is one ugly mother fucker.

Bricriu

Why all this untoward, unmannerly hub-hub about our former great leader Bartholomew Ahern? It is demeaning and insulting to this great son of Ireland.

Professor Ahern (yes, he is an Honorary Professor of Conflict Studies) when in office made sure that all boats rose together, had built numerous excellent houses and apartments that had the highest standards of materials, insulation, including sound-insulation, and safety, etc.

He set firm foundations under Ireland’s economy so that every single citizen benefited. He attempted, as well, to initiate a scheme so that every single citizen would have a bank-account to squirrel away all the money they were earning. He was assisted in that by international financial wizard Pádraig an Pluiméir.

The unpleasantness of the Mahon Enquiry was totally unfair, and commentary about it borders on far-right Hate-Speech.

Professor Ahern single-handedly brought the Peace Process in the North to fruition, whilst unpleasant people like Hume and Adams did everything in their power to put obstacles in his way.

There has been a majestic peace in the North since, with both sides getting on so well, ‘peace walls’ have been torn down, allowing different communities to mix together in great diversity, and the Legislative Assembly is as happy as a children’s crèche, with camaraderie and good intentions all the way.

Professor Ahern is joined in Academia by that other great architect and hero of the Peace Process, the former DUP’s Right Honourable Professor Peter Robinson (yes, he, also, is a Professor - of Peace Studies - in Queen’s University, Belfast!).

I can’t wait for the day when Professor Ahern is made Taoiseach of or wonderful country, and to hear him take his oath of office in exquisite Dublin Irish.

  

hawley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058283957/why-all-this-hub-hub-about-our-former-great-leader-batholomew-ahearn

Why do you consider John Hume unpleasant? Isn't it more likely that BA is targeting the Presidency? Can't say that I agree with your assessment of him being responsible for the upturn in the economy in the early to mid 2000s.

Overheal

Ah yes, Bathy Ahern, famous leader. Very clean.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120232083#Comment_120232083

If clean was a criteria, may of past presidents would not make the grade... our entire system and in deed the system of most western democracies are built on the assumption that politicians are not clean and the fact that we regularly catch them means the system works. I be more concerned it we were not catching them....

StupidLikeAFox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120232836#Comment_120232836

Well "regularly catch them" is up for debate. Do we catch 1%, 10%, 50% etc etc

Boggles

I for one welcome Bertie back, I think we can all agree it's been fair boring without him.

Ireland is FF country, wouldn't surprise me in the least if they substantially increase their vote in the next GE.

From what I can see they are pumping the parish like a half deflated life raft.

Jarhead_Tendler

I'd imagine the only people to welcome him back are the property developers and those that are bone idle

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120233087#Comment_120233087

He has gone from 50s to 12s to as low as 5s with some book makers to be next president.

Lump on. 👍️

Karppi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120233051#Comment_120233051

(insert here the name of your favourite “go to” deity) help you if you think for one second that Ireland needs a return to “the good old Tiger days”. It’s the last thing that Ireland needs.

eggy81

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120233477#Comment_120233477

Some craic for those few years though. Some sessions. Wc2002 until around 2006 we’re great years for living it up. Obviously it was built on sand but still. Good times.

893bet

He has a neck like a jockeys Bollox infairness. You have to admire it in a way.

tayto lover

I wonder how much his after dinner speeches will cost?

FF shooting themselves in the foot. No vote from me.

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120231520#Comment_120231520

I think that post was sarcasm. At least I hope it was !

VinLieger

I will never vote for FF in the Dail but did vote for them locally as their candidates were well spoken and engaging on the doorsteps who had good ideas and thoughts on local issues, wont be voting for them locally anymore now either with Bertie back.

blackbox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120222328#Comment_120222328

I wouldn't wish ill health on anyone, but I do wish he'd gone to jail.

Cluedo Monopoly

A reminder of the ongoing housing disaster that Bertie helped to create. Obviously FG helped by not building any houses post crash.

Rental prices up 13.7% amid 'chronic' supply shortage (rte.ie)

Rents being sought on the open market in the final three months of 2022 were 13.7% higher than the same period in the prior year, the latest rental report from the property website Daft.ie shows.

Rental inflation is being driven primarily by a lack of supply of rental properties.

Nationwide, there were just 1,096 homes available to rent on February 1, down over 20% on the same date a year ago.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235250#Comment_120235250

A couple of things.

FG would have been shot of a cannon if they started building houses post crash when we were bulldozing housing estates and property prices had plunged 60-70% plus.

The figures are homes to rent on daft not nationwide, daft is the property website equivalent of donedeal, full of absolute time wasters.

I know personally of at least half a dozen properties in the last 2 months that were not advertised on daft or anywhere else.

So to suggest there were only 1,096 homes to rent nationwide is not accurate. It also leaves out the fact their 10s of 1000s of homes for sale.

Now one of the most pertinent parts in the article that do get some credit for.

The report includes an index of rents being paid by sitting tenants which shows that the rate of rental inflation in that sector was a more modest 3.8% over the year.

Sitting tenants is 99% of tenants. Shít if you have to move or looking to rent. But the measures they brought in which has help inflate new rents has gave assurance and stability to the vast majority.

There is absolute acute problems in our housing market that needs to be fixed, but solutions have to be based on reality and not Ronan Lyons with his quarterly property porn fear mongering. He gets paid to publish.

The constant hyperventilating over our property market is one of the reasons it's a basket case.

Bertie certainly played his part with centre right policy, but that was a long time ago at this stage.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120233051#Comment_120233051

The only sector of the electorate where FF has much appeal is OAPs. Anyone younger than that either got burned in the crash or can't afford to buy property at all.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235799#Comment_120235799

FF appeal more to the groups that are more likely to vote.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235836#Comment_120235836

Who are these groups?

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237182#Comment_120237182

Over 50s.

Not only are there are more people in Ireland aged 50 and older than there are aged between 18 and 34, but also older voters are more likely to turn out on election day. For every vote cast by those aged under 35, there are roughly two votes cast by those aged 50 and older.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237328#Comment_120237328

Maybe 12+ years ago, but I don't see it happening now. The over 50's are currently dealing with all manner of problems concerning their own offspring, they are witness and also victims to the destabilisation. This goes for the over 50's consistent FG fanatic voter too.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237349#Comment_120237349

It will come down to the economy. Housing, health, education, environment, etc are always cited as reasons for a vote.

But 80 to 90% of voters consistently cite the economy as what steer their vote.

IF the economy is doing well, married, rural, more affluent, home owners, retired will vote FF.

The people who turn out to vote in greater numbers.

Unfortunately we do not do well on turnout relative to other countries on voting in general elections, particularly the younger voter.

VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237349#Comment_120237349

Indeed they do but they are still likely to vote for their own interests. An example is the massive resistance to even discussing increasing the retirement age or any changes to the state pension, which unless we do something about it those 50+ year olds children and grand children are going to be paying an extra at least an extra 2500 in tax to just help fund the state pensions by 2040 and thats not even taking into account the problem of the worker to retiree ratio where we will only have 2:1 workers to retirees by 2040 vs the current 4:1 we have now. And yet anytime this issue gets discussed all you hear is "we paid our PRSI, we deserve it" which really just shows a gross misunderstanding of how PRSI payments towards the state pension works along with the standard ladder pulling up attitude of the boomer generations.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237376#Comment_120237376

Where is the economy doing well for any of these people? You are looking at hundreds of thousands of people with nowhere to live, people being forced into buying EV vehicles and all manner of green agenda's that has them also out of pocket. You have food and commodity prices rising through the roof with no end in sight. Your arguments are based on the past when FF used to utilsie vast amounts of money in order to service the Irish population, that is not happening now.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237386#Comment_120237386

From the vast majority I talk to on a daily basis, and I'm talking serious FF & FG over 50's voters, who would have been previous rabid fans, they are seriously worried about where their teams are heading, they don't believe they speak to them anymore, more importantly they don't speak to their family, their lineage, these politicos don't speak to their historical ethos. It's not about their personal interests, the vast majority of these voters are set up for life, its about historical achievements, and the older their fans get, the more they feel these two historically dominant entities are losing sight of what they both did. And how it is going to effect their offspring and lineage.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237460#Comment_120237460

None of it is my opinion.

It's the voting demographics and trends of this country, unless their a seismic shift which doesn't seem likely it will continue.

Also if anyone is trying to force me to buy an electric vehicle they better give me the money for it.

As for government not utilising vast amounts of money, have a look at the spend since the last election, basically since Covid. Unprecedented.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237503#Comment_120237503

Trends don't matter a damn thing when faced with reality. You and FF will know all about it next year.

"spend since covid" yeah, firing money into further black holes of the public and private sector is a great indicator of how the mismanagement continues apace.

Give me 10,000 yoyo's of your cash I'll spend it no problem, probably won't benefit you though.