Describe irish political parties in a nutshell

billy the squid

Nuttzz wrote:

this is the communication ministers remit, who happens to be a FF minister

The progressive Democrats are in the perfect position to encourage the government to reform broadcasting legislation with regard to liberalising the media. but they have not done this. After staying quiet about the likes of Tim O'Malley using unlicenced stations to electioneer for the 2002 election they quietly snubbed the representatives of these stations. by passing the buck onto someone else. The point being thet the progressive Democrats are nothing but a party of empty promises.

The same goes for the medical cards. They promised X number of medical cards and finally pulled back on that one also, offering the cheaper (for them) option.

all public sector charges are controlled by the dept of finance, which happens to be controled by an FF minister

In order to get a finance bill into law, the minister for finance would have had to get the approval of the Progressive Democrats given that they are the ones keeping the government in power. they sat there and did nothing while money was being stripped from people that hadn't got it.

see Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council for this who allowed the planning on this, not a government decision

As minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, mary harney was in a position to protect those being dislocated and left without premisesis thanks to Dundrum Shopping Centre. While the granting of planning permission to said shopping centre was the remit of Dun Laoire county council, it is however the remit of the Minister for enterprise trade and employment to protect those being put out of work. Who do you think sets up these task forces when some factory closes down. it is not the county councils.

there has been no such task force been set up for dislocated businesses in Dundrum.

AngelofFire

Fianna Fail-Corrupt populist right of centre party, gets much of its vote because of old family loyalities. No clear ideological foundation, but getting into power and holding on to it.

Fine gael-Ditto, except even more conservative on social issues and more pro european.

Labour-Irelands main stream left wing party. For a fair and equitable tax systen, better funded social services and propotionate distribution of the wealth of the celtic tiger. Liberal leaning on social issues. Have interchangable socialist and social democratic policies.

PDs- Right of centre party, see monetarist policies as the only way forward for Ireland. Pro IBEC, pro business employer and anti welfare. Claim to be a 'Liberal' party but under Michael Mcdowell we have seen mass deportations, restriction of pub opening hours, attempts to arm an unaccountable police force with weapons such as tear gas, and plans to bring in On the spot fines.

Green Party-Eco friendly party, in favour of maximising civil and human liberty, strongly supportive of Local Government.

Sinn Fein- Republican party linked to the IRA. Up north they are Conservative, they even privatised the education system. But down south they claim to be marxist in order to appeal to working class voters, nontheless they have many individuals who actually mean it.

Socialist Party- Marxist-Lenninst Cult like organisation, deeply secterian in outlook, Seek abolition of the market, get most of their support from initiatives such as anti bin and water tax campaigns.

Christian Solidarity party- Consists mainly of middle aged men. Zealously anti abortion, even though none of these people will never have to experience anything like the trauma of a Crisis preganancy

Roisin Dubh

PDs- Right of centre party, see monetarist policies as the only way forward for Ireland. Pro IBEC, pro business employer and anti welfare. Claim to be a 'Liberal' party but under Michael Mcdowell we have seen mass deportations, restriction of pub opening hours, attempts to arm an unaccountable police force with weapons such as tear gas, and plans to bring in On the spot fines.

Anti-welfare? What evidence have you for that? Mary Harney has boasted that the old-age pension is heading towards 200 euro a month.

Being a liberal means being liberal on most issues. That doesn't have to include immigration to classify someone as a "liberal". I consider myself a liberal, but not where immigration is concerned.

AngelofFire

Whats your views on things like tear gas, water cannons and on the spot fines then roisin?

Roisin Dubh

AngelofFire wrote:

Whats your views on things like tear gas, water cannons and on the spot fines then roisin?

I'm not aware of any party talking about those? I don't agree with them, unless there is absolute an total anarchy.

Nuttzz

billy the squid wrote:

there has been no such task force been set up for dislocated businesses in Dundrum.

the centre is only open, its hard to see if there has been a negative impact from them yet, more people in dundrum can only help retail outlets imo.


as for local radio, its small fry in the overall scheme of things, fight the battles you can win, if local radio isnt one of them why bother it isnt a major vote winner.

Harney is only in the DOH a wet day, lets see what happens over the comming months and years

Sand

Fianna Fail/Fianna Gael: Two sides of the same coin though theyd both deny it. Both tend to be populist parties, with a loyalty base built on divisions 80 years ago. FF tends slightly more to the left, FG slightly more liberal both in economic and social policy. The vast sway of political idealogies their members possess might be spoken of as a strenth but in actuality means no one knows WTF they stand for. The malaise of Irish politics has been their bitter historical rivalry and how it has obscured real political issues and led to some awkward coalitions just to keep the other crowd out.

Labour: Social Democrats. Party of the otherwise non-aligned (see above) middle class. Rather boring. Tells you what you want to hear. Notable only for leaders foul mouth.

PDs: Economically liberal party. Strong track record of calling a spade a spade re: SF/IRA long before it was popular. Best hope for Irelands future. Popularity (lack of) indicates we're doomed.

Greens: Well meaning enviromental anti-europe party. Members have speculated that it could reconcile enviromentalism with liberal economics but is otherwise a very lefty group. A Green-PD merger would be intriguing....but very unlikely.

SF/IRA: Heavily armed and violent ultra nationalist Marxist terrorist group with a political front. Believes private property leads to oppression. Has murdered 39 people since it agreed to stop murdering people. Pathological liars. Does not accept murder committed by SF/IRA to be a crime. Crinimal activities have made it so wealthy it can employ more paid employees than all the Irish political parties put together. Preys on the votes of the marginalised, the naive and the downright stupid. The single greatest threat to demoracy and the rule of law in Ireland.

true

Well put, Sand.

billy the squid

Nuttzz wrote:

the centre is only open, its hard to see if there has been a negative impact from them yet, more people in dundrum can only help retail outlets imo.

Their shops in the old dundrum shopping centre are going to be demolished, and the local stores have not been offered units in the new store. There is no guarantee that they will be given first refusal on phase II of the new Dundrum Centre, and even if they were, how long do they have to wait before it is built?.

as for local radio, its small fry in the overall scheme of things, fight the battles you can win, if local radio isnt one of them why bother it isnt a major vote winner.

thats a bit defeatist don't you think?

and whether or not it is not a big vote winner, does not change the fact that the PDs are pervayers of empty promises.

true

Billy the Squid says "does not change the fact that the PDs are pervayers of empty promises."

I disagree, the PD have kept many promisres eg about bringing down taxes, standing up for law and order etc etc.

Certain other parties not a million miles away contain those who are pervayers of criminality ( eg the big bank robbery before Xmas ) and terrorist activities. I think it is those people that society should be concerned about.

billy the squid

true wrote:

Billy the Squid says "does not change the fact that the PDs are pervayers of empty promises."

I disagree, the PD have kept many promisres eg about bringing down taxes, standing up for law and order etc etc.

Certain other parties not a million miles away contain those who are pervayers of criminality ( eg the big bank robbery before Xmas ) and terrorist activities. I think it is those people that society should be concerned about.

you want criminality, then talk to members of every political party, who were in breach of the Wireless and Telegraphy Act by giving election related interviews to unlicenced stations both in every local general and european election between 1997 and 2004.

by the way breaches of the above act can incur a maximum of €20,000 fine.

Now Nutzz has blamed the Fianna Fail paity for the increases in government related charges, but then you come along and give credit to the PDs for the lowering of taxes (I am assuming that you mean PAYE) now is it or is it not true that the same government department deal with both government related expenses and PAYE changes. so I am left a little confused here.

So if the PD supporter is going to blame Fianna fail for increases in government related expenses, should they not be giving credit for lower taxes to the same party, as the same department/minister is responsible?

true

billy the squid wrote:

you want criminality, then talk to members of every political party, who were in breach of the Wireless and Telegraphy Act by giving election related interviews to unlicenced stations both in every local general and european election between 1997 and 2004.

To me, the crime you describe above pales in to insignificance compared to a 30 million euro bank robbery ( involving kidnapping and terrifying the family of a bank employee etc ) , murder, punishment beatings, smuggling etc. Why, the leaders of one political party even say that the abduction and murder of a mother of ten is not a crime !

billy the squid wrote:

Now Nutzz has blamed the Fianna Fail paity for the increases in government related charges, but then you come along and give credit to the PDs for the lowering of taxes (I am assuming that you mean PAYE) now is it or is it not true that the same government department deal with both government related expenses and PAYE changes. so I am left a little confused here.

So if the PD supporter is going to blame Fianna fail for increases in government related expenses, should they not be giving credit for lower taxes to the same party, as the same department/minister is responsible?

Both Fianna fail and the PD's deserve credit for bringing down income tax rates. It is fair to say is it more of a policy point / priority for the PD's than Fianna Fail, who would not have brought down income tax rates as much were they in party by themselves or with labour etc.

billy the squid

To me, the crime you describe above pales in to insignificance compared to a 30 million euro bank robbery ( involving kidnapping and terrifying the family of a bank employee etc ) , murder, punishment beatings, smuggling etc. Why, the leaders of one political party even say that the abduction and murder of a mother of ten is not a crime !

I think that if you do a search through these boards you will find that they will be building snowmen in hell before I vote for Sinn fein. my point is that the Pee Dees are not perfect either, none of the political parties are perfect. none of them are worth their weight in bull****. best to vote independent.

Both Fianna fail and the PD's deserve credit for bringing down income tax rates. It is fair to say is it more of a policy point / priority for the PD's than Fianna Fail, who would not have brought down income tax rates as much were they in party by themselves or with labour etc.

and who takes the blame/credit for the fact that a) there is now an annual €40 levy on credit cards whether or not you use them. b) the price of a visit to accident and emergency has nearly doubled since this government came into power. and (c) the medicine payment scheme which allowed people on long term medication but not qualifying for a medical card, has been increased by almost 100 percent?

true

billy the squid wrote:

I think that if you do a search through these boards you will find that they will be building snowmen in hell before I vote for Sinn fein. my point is that the Pee Dees are not perfect either, none of the political parties are perfect. none of them are worth their weight in bull****. best to vote independent.

OK so,fair enough, I did not realise you were making that point. Of course no political party is perfect, I am not a member of any and I have sometimes voted for different ones depending on the canditate etc. In other countries no political party is perfect either etc

billy the squid wrote:

and who takes the blame/credit for the fact that a) there is now an annual €40 levy on credit cards whether or not you use them. b) the price of a visit to accident and emergency has nearly doubled since this government came into power. and (c) the medicine payment scheme which allowed people on long term medication but not qualifying for a medical card, has been increased by almost 100 percent?

The govt takes the blame / credit. Incidentally, I though the medicine payment scheme was increased from about 60 or 65 euro to about 70 or 75 euro ? Not a 100% increase but I could be wrong here.

billy the squid

whether it was increased by five euros or fifty euros it is still a lot to someone that doesnt have it.

Nuttzz

billy the squid wrote:

thats a bit defeatist don't you think?

low tax or local radio....its a no brainer IMHO

billy the squid

who said it was a choice, why not have both?