100 posts
News from Ireland 2020: Surprise Yes vote on Nuclear Plant.
Wexford 2020: Despite a series of opinion polls predicting defeat by a 10 point margin, Wexford County today voted by 57.1% in favour of the ESB proposal to build a nuclear power plant at Carnsore Point. Leaders of the NO campaign were quick to conde...
A Vote For Labour is a Vote for FF
The Sunday Independent’s story that senior Labour figures are hinting at working with Fianna Fail after the next election. It cements the idea that many people already have of Labour. I agree fully with Scandelcentral of course who say: However...
A pension for the Mayor?
John Gormley has an interesting opportunity with the Dublin Mayor legislation to deal with an anomaly that has crept into the public service, that is, the huge public sector pensions. The deal was always that although public service workers tradition...
Another Irish lesson fail
Not seen on the newswires from the Federal Reserve retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming – “The world of economics was rocked to its foundations yesterday when European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet urged countries to run huge str...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: “Fairness”
“Fairness” is the Scaletrix of Irish politics, in that the debate goes round in circles and circles and is incapable of a new direction. It starts from a simple proposition. We all believe in fairness, don’t we? You’d want to...
Is the demand for Gay Marriage down?
This is a question no one is asking after LGBT Noise’s March For Marriage on Sunday. In 2009 Over 3,000 people took part in that Year’s March For Marriage. This year the number is down to 2000 (Figure from Irish Times). That is compared...
Erkan in Ireland to attend EASA 2010 conference (#easa2010)
11th EASA Biennial Conference: Maynooth, Ireland 24-27th August 2010 Crisis and imagination I have arrived Maynooth, a beautiful town near Dublin, Ireland. There are several Turkish friends attending and we did hang out today in the streets of Maynoo...
The reasons Irish politics are so boring.
1. Our electorate are policy averse, leading to politicians who also avoid stating positions that involve taking a side in a political argument. I have canvassed thousands (I’m not exaggerating) of houses over my political life. The vast, vast
Northern Ireland continues to Fail to implement EU law
A few months ago the big news in Northern Ireland was that a failure to properly administer CAP funds (e.g. built on land and some land not belonging to the farmers in question was claimed for) led to the Commission itself investigating the procedure...
Serial killers thank Irish media for distracting Gardai.
The Centre for Homicidally Obsessed Persons (CHOP) would like to thank the Irish media for focussing so much attention on the release of Larry Murphy. By demanding the deployment of substantial Garda resources to track and follow Mr. Murphy, they hav...
Whisper it: Our health service is actually quite good.
Noel Whelan makes a very good point about cancer services in this piece, and also a general observation about media attitudes towards health-care in this country. It’s almost impossible to read a positive story in the Irish media about healt...
Working Class Revolutionaries? What Working Class Revolutionaries?
“The vast majiority (sic) of MIDDLE CLASS southerners dont want to end partition….But as James Connolly said it is the Irish working class that is the incorruptible heirs of Irish Freedom. The southern middle class and indeed if we are tr...
Ireland: A recession of the banks, by the banks, and for the banks
Some stories heard in rural Ireland this summer. A farmer goes into an embattled tractor dealer and reaches an understanding on the purchase of an expensive tractor. The farmer then goes to his local bank manager to get financing to purchase th...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Political Biological Clock.
It’s normally a single event which causes the realisation: The moment you realise that the guy two years behind you in college is now a junior minister, or that plump girl you used to pity is now the political editor of a major national newspap...
The Politics of Disappointment.
Is it reasonable to assume that there has been no major effort within Fine Gael or Labour to actually plan how they are going to run the country if they win the next general election? I don’t mean policies, I accept that they have a heap of pol...
Blasts from the past Machine Nation archives
I found this exchange from when people Korps was Frightened , nice to be appreciated ...from Machine Nation cached archives http://machinenation.forumakers.com/the-open-europe-forum-f30/libertas-a-pan-european-project-read-op-intro-carefully-mod-t195...
News from Ireland 2020: Gardai protest growth of Private Police.
Galway 2020: Garda unions have lodged a formal protest with the Mayor of Galway following the decision of the City Council to outsource public order duties to National Police Service of Ireland Ltd. Under the decision of the council, the Garda Siocha...
Fine Gael calls on govt to “restrict oxygen” on govt jet.
Fine Gael has promised that it will tackle abuse of the government jet by restricting oxygen to flights of one hours duration, if elected to government. An FG backbencher said: “We need a government jet, to get to London and Brussels. But this...
Why we should have political ads on television.
In the US, political ads have been accused of dumbing down politics, turning every election into a nasty barrage of attack ads trying to besmirch the other guy. Yet I think that if we were to scrap party politicals, and instead allocate each party...
How the Irish really think.
Some years ago, I attended a meeting of the owners of an apartment block that I lived in. The services in the block were funded by a charge raised by a property management company, and included refuse charges, insurance, landscaping, electric gate ma...
Campaign News from Ireland
One of Ireland's leading on-line political news sites, politico.ie, has today published an article about the Campaign for a PES Primary.Activists propose new system for EU PresidencyGrass roots activists have proposed a new system to elect the EU Pre...
There is now a reasonable argument for not voting.
I have always voted, and I’ve always argued that people should vote. The truth is, voting does matter and does shape the society we live in, and under our electoral system, a relatively small number of votes does change the result. Having said...
Michael McDowell supports gravity shock!
It’s pretty much par for the course now that when Michael McDowell’s possible reentry into politics is discussed, some on the left dig up what is deemed his now “infamous” remarks about inequality. What he said was that a libe...
HSE apologises for appointment of Death as Patient Relations Officer.
Dr. Brendan Drumm has apologised after the Health Services Executive upset patients by appointing one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to a high level position within the organisation. The HSE has accepted that the appointment of a 15 foot skel...
Do we actually need the Dail? No, seriously?
Am not convinced we’d miss them. If you were designing a democratic political system from scratch, specific for the political wants of the Irish people, would you honestly start with what we have now? We have a parliamentary system from the...
Noel Dempsey: Why good people don’t go into politics.
Excellent piece by Noel Whelan here on the disgraceful, shameful cop-out that is the joint Oireachtas committee report on electoral reform. Just think, in Britain they decided in May, have announced the wording this week, and will have referendum in...
Oireachtas Committee Report on National Parliament involvement in EU legislation
The Oireachtas (both houses of the Irish Parliament) Sub-Committee on Review of the Role of the Oireachtas in European Affairs has published its report (PDF) on how the Irish Parliament should adapt to the new European institutional setting after the...
Ireland proposes greater EU military action under the UN
Ireland has circulated proposals for greater EU military involvement under the UN in peacekeeping missions. Greater EU involvement in peacekeeping missions would lead to a higher level of co-ordination and coherence in national planning, and make the...
Week of July 24th
(Version Francaise) For your pleasure and information, here is a summary of the European news this week: The big thing of the week, is, again, economy: First, at the beginning of the week, the rating agency Moody’s, downgraded the Irish debt by...
Holidays and Integration in Ireland
Over the last week there has been a bit of debate over holidays and integration in Ireland. This was started when a former Tánaiste Michael McDowell suggested that it would be a good idea to make the Twelfth (of July) an official holiday in the Repu...
Semaine du 24 Juillet
(English Version) Pour votre plaisir et votre information, voici le résumé de l’actualité Européenne de la semaine: Le gros dossier de la semaine est – encore une fois – l’économie. D’abord, en début de semaine, l&...
Govt to commission Skeletor to act as all-round cause of nation’s problems.
The Dept of the Taoiseach has announced that former 1980s cartoon baddy Skeletor has been commissioned to act as general source of the nation’s problems and universal hate figure. The former Masters of the Universe nemesis of He-Man has welcome...
Ireland gets civil unions: now only Italy is left
Same-sex Marriage Same-sex Civil Unions Issue under political consideration Unrecognized Constitutional ban on ga...
General Election 2012: The choices so far…
We’re 22 odd months away from a general election, which is quite a while, to be honest. Having said that, there’s no harm in having a quick look at what’s actually on offer to the Irish voter: Fianna Fail/The Greens: I’ve incl...
Labour: Same policy on property tax as “right wing” PDs.
Oh, how the worm handbrake turns. From today’s Irish Times: “Labour leader Eamon Gilmore today said he opposed the idea as many people had already paid a property tax in the form of stamp duty. People who are struggling to pay their mortg...
Northern Ireland MEPs in the Wider European Parliament
My posts on the Northern Ireland MEPs' first year in the 7th European Parliament mostly focused on highlighting what their priorities/key policy areas are with a bit of analysis (mostly a loose comparison between their performance and the "models" of...
Live! From Leitrim!
Dateline June 2020. Leitrim. Counting is continuing in the county plebiscite to legalise prostitution and gambling in the county, following a turnout of 72% in the vote yesterday. Opinion polls have shown the result will be very close, but Mayor of L...
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What is it like to lose ALL of the time?
A former Progressive Democrat knows what it is like to lose. A lot. But it’s also fair to say that PDs can point to a lot of thngs that they (if not their opponents) regard as achievements, in that they are at least goals they sought to achieve...
All gives a new meaning to the phrase Up Dev?
This surprised me, but some gay readers recently suggested to me that in their experience, Ogra Fianna Fail “was where it was happening”. I’d always thought that the Young Greens and Labour Youth would have been the more logical h...
Ryanair to make customers fight giant lizard, jump through ring of fire, to board plane.
Budget airline Ryanair have announced new procedures for passengers from today, which will involve passengers wrestling with a six foot lizard, leaping through a ring of fire, and disarming an explosive device by cutting the correctly coloured wire.
Irish politics needs a system of Proportional Representation.
Surely, you say, we have one already? No, we don’t. A proportional system would give the Green Party, on 5% (their current poll rating) 8 seats in the Dail. Hands up who believes the Greens will win eight seats if there was a general election,...
Credit where it is due to FF and the Greens.
In fairness, I’m beginning to look back at the government parties in terms of my wandering vote. Given FG’s refusal to contemplate really radical political reform, and Labour’s (honest) decision to speak for the public sector, FF an...
Irish YES and hopes from Czech
Constant endeavour of inducing Irish voters and ongoing economic turmoil ultimately ended up with so much desired referendum results… Irish citizens casted their votes for YES! Even in a time of particularly unpopular government. Moreover, explici...
Can This Union Be Saved?
Thomas Geoghegan, a labor lawyer in Chicago, observed this today in the New York Times: Ireland was poor and helpless until the European Union came along like a fairy godmother. The E.U., really Germany, took compassion. It gave Ireland a home in th...
It’s the wrong Fianna Fail, Gromit!
Interesting point raised by Dan Sullivan here as to what happens if all the “wrong” FFers survive.
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Plank.
Let’s be honest: The suit is wearing him. “Now, he should be party leader!” They gush. “After all, he’s from a lovely family. And he wears a suit so well.” All this is true. On top of that, he’s a tall, h...
Sinn Fein object to the woman they work for visiting?
Listening to Sinn Fein’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin talk about the possible visit of the British queen, he made an odd point, saying that her role as commander in chief of the British Army made her unwelcome. This is purely a symbolic role, in tha...
Article on ECHR and Abortion
Shannon Calt has just posted a comment on the upcoming ECHR decision in A, B, and C v. Ireland, a case on abortion. The article, entitled 'A., B. & C. v. Ireland: 'Europe's Roe v. Wade'?' was published in the Lewis & Clark Law Review Vol. 14, No. 3...
The PDs: Boom to Bust.
Just watched Sam Smth’s “The PDs: Boom to Bust.” Brought back a lot of memories, but what really struck me was the fact that what others deemed Thatcherite when referring to PD policies back then is now the norm, particularly on ta...
An issue worth confronting.
“Mayo has it!” A Fine Gael councillor shouted outside Leinster House on the news that Enda Kenny had won the motion of confidence. Mayo has it? It’s a telling remark, because it highlights an issue that has been there, is noticed, b...
Fine Gael reveals itself.
We’ve learnt a lot about Fine Gael. Fine Gael have decided that he has the mettle and the intellect to negotiate one-on-one with Europe’s other leaders. They have decided that in this time of crisis, as the country faces its greatest cha...
Why Fine Gael Needs A New Leader
As I write this the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party are meeting to discuss the motion of Confidence in Party Leader, Enda Kenny. I have already set out why I think Enda should go, but is Richard Bruton the person that should lead instead? I don’t...
An Occasional Guide to Irish politics: The hard working but essentially pointless TD.
Ask the Irish to believe in an omnipotent being watching over them, and you’ll have no problem. Ask them to believe that a fella sitting in Rome has a direct line to God and they’ll say sure, that’s grand. But ask them to believe th...
So you say you want change. But really, do you?
The Irish constantly say that they want change. Normally for parking meters. They also occasionally say that they want political change. But what is political change, and how do you measure how much change do you want? Question 1: Do you want chan...
Irish Politics: Sometimes it is so hard to give a damn.
I was thinking that I should be writing something about the Bruton/Kenny thing, until it struck me that I just don’t really care that much. Yes, Richard Bruton is better suited to be Taoiseach et al, but…well, here it is: I’ve just...
Is Enda’s Time Up?
Back in February I wrote this Enda Kenny has been the leader of Fine Gael since 2002. In that time he has revitalised the party but he has failed to capitalise on the failures of Fianna Fail. Today’s resignation of George Lee is the final nail in t...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Handwringer.
“What…about…the…children???” She will bellow, head rubbernecking around the studio audience, making eye contact with all to ensure that no one cares more about the issue than her, and that everyone knows it, too. Everything is a simple equa...
It’s only a poll.
Reading some of the online hysteria about this morning’s Irish Times poll, there are a few points that I feel are worth considering: 1. It’s a single poll. Let’s not go mad, cracking each other’s skulls open and feeding on the...
Simple promises worth keeping.
I, Gavin Goodteeth, if elected to Dail Eireann, promise the following simple and achievable pledges: 1. I will put on my website receipts for anything I claim in expenses. 2. I will, each week, take one registered voter I have never met before to lun...
Why Fianna Fail should nominate David Norris for President.
No, seriously. Hear me out. This isn’t as mad as you think. Firstly, FF want next year’s presidential election like a hole in the head. It means spending a fortune on a campaign for an office that does not really matter in the grand schem...
Fianna Fail Senators Caught “Flipping”
Remember during the expense scandal in the UK that the big issue was over the “flipping” of the designations of first and second homes. Well it would seem that two Fianna Fail Senators were doing just that over here. Ivor Callely, who cou...
FF Senators not happy with Civil Partnership Bill
There was some debate yesterday in the Seanad on the Civil Partnership Bill during the order of business. Fianna Fail Senators Labhrás Ó Murchú, Jim Walsh and John Gerard Hanafin raised objections to parts of the Bill and one called for a referend...
EU: Stability programme Ireland
Start by reading the background remarks on economic policy coordination in the European Union, in the blog post EU: Useful stability and convergence programmes? (3 June 2010). You can then move on to the EU Council opinion on the stability programme...
Good little Paddies done real good.
The Irish Times reprints a Wall Street Journal editorial praising Ireland and holding it up...
What does Fianna Fail need to do to win (or at least not get totally hammered) the next general election in 23 months?
The conventional wisdom says that FF is absolutely banjaxed. I’m not sure: The odds are against it, and the party is facing historically massive obstacles, but there are factors that need to be considered. 1. The longer, the better. The country has...
The Politics of Expectation.
What a choice. I don’t know if I will vote in the next general election, as I don’t see a party that shares my values. FF are finally doing the right thing, but only because they have no choice. You know what you are getting, but it is a stale...
Ireland and the EU – Past, Present, Future
I have been meaning to post this for awhile but I didn’t know it had been posted on youtube yet. I saw this at the Alliance Francaise Symposium and I loved it and I hope you will too. Very informative! This video was created by the Irish delega...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The establishment “anti-establishment” journalist.
He touts himself as a straight talker, man of the people and enemy of the establishment. Except when he’s working for RTE or the biggest media groups in the country. On the radio, he’s scathing of public figures until they appear on the show, whe...
What’s wrong with this picture?
Here’s a wheeze, you know, for a laugh. Supposing we got rid of all our political parties. ALL of them. And started up brand new parties. What sort of parties would naturally emerge, and who would vote for them? The Centre Party: Made up of car...
A vote for Fine Gael is a vote for Labour which is a vote for Jack O’Connor.
Today’s Sunday Business Post Red C poll has FG and Labour on a combined 52%, which makes me ponder. They are the alternative government, facing the worst economic crisis in the country’s history, against a governing party that is at its l...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Anatomy of an Irish Issue.
An issue arises that catches the attention of the nation. Reviews are ordered. Followed by other reviews of the reviews. NGOs demand resources*. The relevant minister, or even the Taoiseach, pledges that the issue will be addressed, and that the govt...
Is a new party viable?
Rise, Lord Vader! Rumours whirl about that Pat Cox and Michael McDowell are pondering the creation of a new political party. Let’s ask ourselves a few questions: Do we need a new party? That depends on what you want to achieve. Certainly, a...
Let’s let the people who screwed up write the new constitution.
Eamonn Gilmore, who is a politician I respect if rarely agree with, has suggested that we set up a constitutional convention of 30 people, to draft a new constitution. I think that is a good idea. However, his suggestion as to the composition of the...
One good reason to vote for Fianna Fail.
No, I’m not endorsing the soldiers. I’m just making a point, and it is this. For all their many, many flaws, and they have many, the one thing you can be certain of with a vote for Fianna Fail is that you know what you are getting, and p...
Supplying the rules
The Irish parliament is during today and tomorrow rushing through the legislation that allows the highly indebted country to make an apparently profitable loan to Greece as part of the Eurozone rescue package. Here is the actual Irish legislation...
The boredom of Irish Politics.
I have had three conversations with people recently, all former political activists (with three different Irish parties) and the sort of high calibre people we purport to want to see in public life. What struck me about all of them was how they have...
On The Frontline.
Was asked by the lovely people of RTE to do “The Frontline” as one of the audience “pundits” last night. Don’t know why I do it, as I always feel when I have to be very short that I end up looking and sounding like a rab...
The cheek of them!
I’ve recently become aware of a well known (in Dublin) candidate for the Dail contacting political activists to work on his campaign. What was interesting was that two of the activists apparently had the audacity, on listening to his invitation...
Fine Gael’s own goal.
I get contacted a fair bit by people in different parties who want to almost use me as a confessional, presumably because I’m discreet. I only ever quote people with their permission, or if they are responding to a formal query in their role as...
Are Fine Gael actually TRYING to lose the votes of rational people?
Fine Gael’s attack on the suggested Commission scrutiny of national budgets is infuriating to people like me, who should be natural FG voters. The fact is, our currency is in big trouble because there has not been enough scrutiny and peer revie...
Boris Vs. The Bland
I have found myself unable to watch, in particular, most New Labour politicians on telly, because they seem to speak in an endless stream of vapid slogans, where they just list out areas of policy that their pollsters have told them people are concer...
Tumbleweed on the Ogra FF blog.
Listen to these statements: “Great to hear each Ogra will be allowed to post blogs, greater inclusion of the individual units and the work they do will show the true strenght and impact that Ogra makes nationally.” and “Orgra fianna...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The man who never experienced the Celtic Tiger.
Celtic Tiger? Maybe up in Dublin Four, but not around here, he announces. No, we went from the recession in the 1980s to now, and nothing has changed around here. Nothing! You point at the new motorways sweeping past him and off into the horizon. Sur...
IDAHO 2010
Changing Attitudes Ireland is again organising events for International Day Against Homophobia in Belfast, Cork and Dublin. While IDAHO is on the 17th May, the events will take place on the preceding Sunday 16th of May. The theme this year is “...
Ireland to sue EU Council for “lack of cultural sensitivity”
The Irish authorities are considering suing the Council of the European Union services after a cover note issued by the latter and including a letter of the Permanent Representative of Ireland, His Excellency Rory Montgomery, referred to the latt...
Are the Irish economically challenged?
If there is one political fact that you would like every student to know leaving school, it would be that every euro promised by a politician in increased welfare or grants or spending on local facilities has to be taken from someone’s pocket.
Democracy, Henry Kissinger style.
“I don’t see why we need to stand by and let a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people” Henry Kissinger. I recently came across this quote from the former US Secretary of State, used to justify US suppor...
Stop TDs from being ministers.
Many of the problems facing the country today come from the fact the the Dail has been remiss in its duty as a check on the government. There’s a simple reason for this: Most ambitious TDs see the Dail merely as an electoral college for the ca...
Labour ad. Would it work for Fianna Fail?
See it here. The actor is Sean Pertwee, whose father used to be Doctor Who. The voiceover is by David Tennant, who used to be Doctor Who. They should have stuck a few (blue) daleks in as well. The tone is interesting, and one that might work for...
Fianna Fail are Tories. Part 2.
Declan Harmon, from the thinking wing of Fianna Fail (the ones who believe that writing stuff down on paper does not automatically mean it will be used against you in a tribunal, or that a) reading something heavier than the Racing Post, and b) not...
A conferring levy?
Image via Wikipedia Received this via email this morning: Student Outrage as UCC Impose Conferring Levy on Students- YFG UCC students were left wondering if they were being hit by a bad April fool’s joke from college authorities last night fol...
Most Fianna Failers would be Tories.
Policy or Parish? A friend of mine runs a thinktank in the UK, and they’ve launched this recently. It’s called Votematch, and it allows people to answer policy questions, and then be matched to the parties closest to them. What is fasci...
Irish President tells Turks an anecdote of myth not fact and some Turks already know it…
A while ago, in a mailing list, a friend excitedly send Drogheda FC’s logo and told the story. Someone searched about it and found that was a myth. Now here comes again: President tells Turks an anecdote of myth not fact Merkel to repeat offer...
Electoral Reform and the List System
There seems to be a bit of talk about Electoral Reform lately going around and the possibility of it being in the new FG policy. As someone who would like to see the Seanad replaced with an elected body, by a PR List, possibly national or regional, J...
No Blacks just Irish Is the Irish Taxi Council a WHITE ONLY group?
No Blacks just Irish?....................Irish Taxi Council March 10 meeting in SwordsIrish Taxi Council formed July 2009 where are the African, Asian, Eastern European members?The Irish Taxi Council formed by Frank Byrne who used to be a big shot in...
St Patrick’s Day festivities
In the evening, all of our Irish members – from north and south – hosted an Irish cultural evening on the Committee’s premises. There were speeches and music and dancing and whisky and Guinness (of course!) and hosts of distinguishe...
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Some good ideas from Fine Gael.
Credit where it is due. FG’s proposals for political reform should be given consideration. They aren’t perfect, and in particular their proposals for electoral reform are too vague and limited, in that 15 seats is not enough and could, if...
