Social Democrats

He'll do well so. He sounds like my local fella at home who has the seat for about 20 years, hes practically anonymous in the national media.

Too many snouters and too few places at the trough. Green voters (non water melon variety) are also quite different to Labour and SocDem voters.

Regards...jmcc

I don't think Cairns is a shoe in at the next election cork south west is a tight 3 seater. Since election she has criticised dairy farming in particular which is a huge part of the large dairy industry in that area. I don't think that will go down too well. Her family themselves are former dairy farmers who have converted to seed production.

Also interesting that she is Cork's only female TD.

I don’t get the holly cairns hype

she would be a useless leader

Young, female, progressive, a rural-ish face for an urban party, name recognition from the mother and baby reparations.

She ticks a lot of boxes.

I agree that SF is gathering a deal of support in 20-30 demographic but how firm is that support? Even young people who may have heard Mary Lou condemn the shooting of a policeman this morning will raise an eyebrow if they hear the same party leader address the SF Ard Fheis and note the lavish praise heaped on the hard men of violence. SF is a growing force in the Republic's politics but that can wither away just as easily if there is a credible alternative clearly democratic left of centre party.

I'm asking you to back up your claim that "I'm pretty sure all the polling beforehand strongly indicated both proposals would pass". You're saying that FG (in this case) paid 'lip service' by only running referendums that they were sure would pass. I'm telling you, as someone that was involved in both of those referendums are varying levels, that no one knew they would pass at the time that they were being planned. It was a huge risk for FG, and particularly for FF, where Martin had to deal with the majority of his TDs campaigning against him and the referendum.

These were brave decisions by both FF and FG that significantly improved Ireland as a place to live for many people.

I'm not going to get dragged into a broader discussion. I'm first to criticise FF and FG for many of the things they've done and not done.

But to say that they 'paid lip service' is factually untrue.

To succeed.

Labour and the Soc Dems can hang together, or hang separately, as they say.

Labour might have some residual toxicity left over from 2011, sure, but the same could be said for FF, FG, Greens and yet there they all are, living on the corridors of power, with the Mercs and the Perks.

A centrist coalition of FG, FF and a newly enlarged Labour could easily get 100 seats in the next Dáil and deny SF the formation of a Government, even if they exceed expectations and top 60 seats.

In fact thats just the plausible scenario that ought make SF supporters turn a bit pale.

We've had the splintering of Irish politics folks, as sure as night follows day, the re-consolidation is coming, albeit with three larger blocks instead of the old two.

She won't get the farming vote, that will be a setback if she hopes to be re elected.

You’re crowd aren’t FF TDs. It goes waaaaaaay beyond lip service to drive victory in the two referendums. There was real leadership in both parties that brought many centrist middle aged and older voters out to vote Yes.

And no, I won’t get into your false dichotomy argument about a claim I never made.

The smoking ban was an unpopular decision when it came in because a lot more people were smokers back then yet they went ahead with it knowing it could cost them votes.

Ahhh now come on, they even didn't use the whip on their own TDs for canvassing/supporting it.

From an Indo article at the time:

"Speaking anonymously, one TD said there was "no personal benefit" from the referendum as campaigning for a Yes vote would "upset as many as it pleases".

Your hatred is giving you a false memory.

But where it was unpopular, it wasn't going to cost them votes.

Those who felt strongly against it didn't switch to any of the fringe parties who opposed it and were never likely to.

Whereas it gained a lot of support amongst younger voters. Especially those middle class voters likely to swing to FFG.

Really? Is that how you remember it? Because I remember her showing honour and integrity in the face of cronyism and stroke politics by her FG boss, the worst health minister in the last 25 years. She was Minister of State for Primary Care. Some links might help you remember.

Shortall resigns as minister (irishexaminer.com)

"It is no longer possible for me to fulfil my role as Minister of State for Primary Care because of lack of support for the reforms in the Programme for Government and the values which underpin it.

"The public have a right to expect that decisions on health infrastructure and staffing will be made in the public interest based on health need and not driven by other concerns.

It deepened after Dr Reilly added two towns in his north Dublin constituency to a priority list for the location of new centres.

The original list, based largely on need in poorer areas, had been drawn up by Ms Shortall. 

Varadkar: Reilly move ‘like stroke politics’ (irishexaminer.com)

Health Minister James Reilly’s decision to add two sites in his constituency to a list of locations for primary care centres does look like stroke politics, his Cabinet colleague Leo Varadkar has admitted.

“It does look like it. I don’t know if it is or not. You know, you have to trust your colleagues to make the right decisions and make them on the right basis and I do trust Dr Reilly in that regard. But I don’t know all the details.”

Primary care centres - Stroke politics are an insult (irishexaminer.com)

Micheál Martin’s call for the resignation of Health Minister James Reilly over the preferment of two primary care centres in his own constituency would not have sounded so hollow if Mr Martin had had the courage to speak out in government when some of his own colleagues were engaging in the naked preferment of their own constituencies.

Two other areas were also included, following the intervention of government politicians — Kilkenny was included in the list even though it was only ranked in 151st position, while Ballaghaderreen was 244th. Ms Shortall says that she resigned as a junior minister in protest against those four late additions.

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Gilmore did not back his TD because he was too deep in the trough and was eyeing up a cozy EU job (which he still has).

Reilly was also the reason we still don't have a Childrens Hospital and it will cost multiples of the original plan. In 2012 he said it would be built by 2016 for €478 million. More fool you and the taxpayer.

Children's hospital 'can be built in four years' - Independent.ie