Ireland Election News

Irish Times Latest Poll one in four undecided how to Vote on 31st May

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:33:48 +0000

So, one in four people dont know how to vote in the upcoming Fiscal Treaty referendum thats according to an Irish Times poll. Well aht do you expect the governemt as ususal were slow of the blocks much in the same weay when the Lisbon treatty was defeated due to lack of proper information andn disastrous press releases form the commison hat was setup to promote it but I digress. So what did the poll actaul says in the way of dissected results. Well the maina and worrying part was this one in four not knowing which way to vote, and if the past has thought us anythign its that the populace will veer to the No vote if this really is the case. Just had the pleaseure of watching the new information video from the governament for the Yes Vote.

Nice little video too much yellow and white and purple? dont know what thats about, probably sublimial. If you nhappend to glance at the Irish Times the figure reckon that the Yes vote is ahead but the No vote is not far behind and with the undecided it could be Lisbon all over again. So the ball is finally rolling and the inforamtion is out thewre and its up to us to decide roll on the 31st May.

Fiscal Treaty where’s the information, anyone ?

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:25:47 +0000

Ok we know things are bad but how about some information, not a single leaflet has been put through the door no adverts, nada nothing. If this keeps up will it be the Lisbon Treaty all over again, lack of clear advice for Yes side so everybody votes No as they don’t understand it or see it as a vote against the government. Try it, go on the inter web and see the wealth of information that is absent, it’s really quite astounding. The date for the referendum is Thursday 31st of May and still no public announcements or press junkets, whats going on.

Who thinks that there’s more to inkgate than meets the eye, I mean all that printing maybe Sinn Fein did a secret deal to print out the Fiscal Treaty leaflets and there’s a secret stash somewhere. For such an important decision there a distinct lack of proper debate and unbiased information out there. Hopefully in next few weeks things will ramp up and things will get better, it’s just for such an important decision its a bit luke warm at the moment, the papers and tv have started but all I want is a leaflet listing the pros and cons that’s it.

Fiscal Treaty Referendum another day another referendum

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:02:04 +0000

Good old Eamon O’Cuiv is coming out fighting again in his opposition to the Fiscal Treaty Referendum com ing soon to a voting booth near you soon. In the Independent today the Fianna Fail T.D. does not expect to be removed (booted out) of the party. Well it took this long to boot out Bertie Ahern and Padraig Flynn I think it’s safe to say he’s safe. I know its obvious to say it but it reeks of hypocrisy that all of a sudden he’s developed a backbone. He was part of a government that brought us to financial ruin and now he can in good conscience vote against treaty his party caused. I’ve no problem in voting Yes or No in the referendum its your choice, it’s a catch twenty situation and it puts us the little people in a horrible position.

Do we bite the hand that feeds us and in some ways caused or massive debt or do we accept it and show that we are willing to let the EU federaldies control are spending by putting a capon how much we can ? Well I’ll wait for the leaflet to come through the door (too easy!) because there’s not a lot of unbiased information out there.Unless you want indulge your self in the numerous news shows and political forum I suggest you try to find a copy of the treaty soon and formulate your own opinion. Otherwise you might be swept along in the hysteria that’s already happening. The choice is there just put a bit of thought into your decision whether it be Yes or No.

Review of the Wexford constituency by Adrian Kavanagh

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:54:25 +0000

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Dr. Adrian Kavanagh is based in the Geography Department of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Over the next few days and weeks I am going to briefly review each of the forty-three Dáil constituencies and I will relate these to what the December 2010 Newstalk prediction survey says about the different constituencies and how these tally with the general trends observed in my more recent opinion poll analyses on www.politicalreform.ie – these views will of course be influenced by party’s candidate selections with up-to-date news about these available from the Irish General Election Facts and Figures blog (http//geographyspecialinterestgroup.wordpress.com/) Wexford (5-seats) This constituency has traditionally elected two Fianna Fáil candidates, two Fine Gael candidates and one Labour candidate over the past few decades with few exceptions, but there are fears within Fianna Fáil ranks that the party could be down to one, or even no seat, here. Former TD Liam Twomey could be in running to take a third Fine Gael seat here, while the Fianna Fáil incumbents (John Browne and Sean Connick) face intense local opposition from Labour’s Pat Cody and colourful independent, Mick Wallace, respectively. Howlin, D’Arcy and Kehoe should be safe, after that the seats could fall to any two out of the five aforementioned candidates. The order of eliminations and vote transfers will prove crucial here. Connick might just have enough local support in his New Ross base to edge out Wallace and Twomey for the south-western/southern Wexford seat, especially if he is in a position to avail of Browne transfers should the Gilmore Gale blow a second Labour seat, and also the second Enniscorthy seat, the way of Cody. Labour gain and Fianna Fáil loss – Connick FF, D’Arcy FG, Kehoe FG, Howlin LB, Cody LB. Potential surprise package Anthony Kelly, Seamus O’Brien and John Dwyer offer a range of options on the left of the Wexford political spectrum and it will be interesting to see if one of these candidates can emerge to make a significant impact in this election. More about Adrian Kavanagh Anthony Kelly Europe Fianna Fáil Fine Gael General Election Geography Department http Irish general election John Browne John Dwyer Labor Liam Twomey Mick Wallace National University of Ireland Pat Cody politics Sean Connick www.politicalreform.ie. .

FF rebel Mattie gets locals to sing from same hymn sheet with record

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:52:57 +0000

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“YOU’VE all been telling lies!” said the man. “I never told a lie in my life,” replied Mattie McGrath, the Fianna Fail rebel now running as an Independent in Tipperary South-West Waterford. The man, who didn’t want to be named, was the first and only angry voter Mattie met yesterday while canvassing in Cahir, Co Tipperary. Mattie is loved in Cahir, the town just miles from his home and where he went to school. “If you’re to get the vote from me, I want no more bull****,” continued the man. As this exchange was going on, one of Mattie’s vans did a lap of the town square, with a recorded message from Mattie belting from loudspeakers attached to the roof. “I need your number one,” the message blasted. “If you re-elect me, I will continue getting the work done for the people of Tipperary-West Waterford.” The loudspeaker also plays a few tunes from Mattie’s new election CD, ‘The Man in the Van’ (or ‘Now That’s What I Call Mattie 2011′, since he had one for the last election too). It includes such tracks as the techno-dance music tune ‘Rise and Follow Mattie’ and the more traditional ‘Working till Morning’, which the sleeve notes say was written “in appreciation of Mattie’s hard work”.

The final track — ‘Our Guy, Your Guy, Mattie McGrath’ — has a reel at the end of it “as a mark of respect for Mattie as he chisels persistently at all issues and policies in need of change”. The CD, Mattie tells us, only costs a few bob, and all proceeds go to charities for the blind. One of the musicians on the CD, Stefan, is visually impaired. Meanwhile, at the side of the square, the spat continues. “You were all jumping ship like rats,” says the man.

Mattie throws a curveball. “How’s your mother?” he asks. “Ah, she’s alright . . . ah, hang on, there’s no point in asking how my mother is.” The man moves on to Mary Harney, and Mattie points out that he’s been “fighting Mary Harney for four years”.

“And those pensions are too much. Your wages should be cut. There should be a constitutional referendum.” And then Mattie takes a handful of cue cards and a pen from his pocket, as if he is about to take down a complaint about a broken streetlight or pothole. “Now,” says Mattie, scribbling on the card.

“I’m just writing it down here about the constitutional referendum.” And he jots down “constitutional referendum” before putting the card back in his pocket. The man then tells how his mother is upset after a letter from the local Fine Gael TD, Tom Hayes, arrived through the door addressed to his father, even though the father died five years ago. “Ah, that’s very careless,” tuts Mattie, who’s quickly off, shaking more hands and handing out more leaflets. It’s a cold, blustery day in Cahir but Mattie is well received by almost everyone. He’s wearing a baseball hat with ‘Vote Mattie Number One’ written on it. Everyone knows him and everyone has a word — even a pack of 20-somethings who drive by in a stretch Hummer give him a cheer. Mattie McGrath — rock star.

Well, he does have his own CD. Confident On the way out of the Punter’s Rest pub, a man shouts “Mattie, I want to thank you for sending Seanie Lanigan up to fix the lights for me.” A Shane Ross-style Independent Mattie ain’t. But some voters are focused on the national picture. “You can’t be jumping ship the way you did with Fianna Fail,” says shopkeeper Patrick O’Donovan. Mattie says he’s confident of holding his seat. He visits the local enterprise centre and prompts Helen Quirke, who works there, to “tell him about my colleague, my former colleague”. She tells how the centre wrote to local FF TD Martin Mansergh in December 2009, asking for help. He never got back to them, but appeared in the centre a few weeks ago, where the issue was brought up with him. “He said, ‘Oh you got that sorted’,” Ms Quirke said. “And we said, ‘yeah, Mattie sorted it’.” Poor Martin, he doesn’t really stand a chance. Irish Independent

Greens criticise greedy independents

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:52:33 +0000

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John Gormley, leader of the Green Party, has criticised the disproportionate influence of some independent politicians in Irish politics. He singled out Jackie Healy-Rae (whose son will be contesting this election) and Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry for particular criticism. He believes that the last thing the country needs in its current crisis is for individual politicians to control the balance of power. “We don’t need a government that must constantly look over its shoulder to ensure that independents, with their range of interests, are being ‘looked after’,” Gormley said. “The Green Party is the only party contesting this election that has not been tainted by auction politics and bad decision-making over the last 20 years, and which has real experience of making difficult decisions in government. “We don’t have to look too far for evidence we’ve had ex-Fine Gael TD Michael Lowry pushing for his Las Vegas-style casino in Tipperary and we’ve had Jackie Healy-Rae irresponsibly holding the country to ransom during our economic crisis. “We were very clear about that dealing with the likes of Michael Lowry. I said to Minister Lenihan at the time – there is no way we can entertain a casino.“You can’t pander to this sort of very, very narrow interest and unhealthy interests. It’s just not good for the country.

“If people want the next government to have a strong mandate for the tough challenges ahead, there would seem to be no benefit from having to pander to a dozen or more independents.”

Ó’Cuív name change ensures he’s moving on up the ballot paper

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:52:13 +0000

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CIAN NIHILL ’s sideways look at Election 2011 Ó’Cuív name change ensures he’s moving on up the ballot paper WHILE FIANNA Fáil may have gone down in the opinion polls since the last election, one of its outgoing ministers is rapidly rising up the ballot paper. Eamon Ó Cuív has dropped the Ó prefix from the spelling of his name on the ballot paper, moving him close to the top of the list which is done alphabetically. Mr Ó Cuív told journalist John Fallon that he had established the correct use of his surname in a previous Circuit Court case and that he was not trying to secure an advantage in the election. Mr Ó Cuív’s decision not to use the prefix moves his name from fourth bottom to fourth from the top on the ballot paper in Galway West. Would his party Fianna Fáil possibly consider a name change in return for such a move up the polls? UNFORTUNATE HEADLINE OF THE DAY FINE GAEL PRESS OFFICE “Pensions and penioners will be protected under FG” An interesting heading to a press release from a party whose leader had to recently forgo a controversial teacher’s pension Fine Gael hopeful a hot contender while Miriam gets taoiseach nod THE YOUTH have spoken and the votes are in, Catherine Yore in the Meath West constituency is the “hottest” candidate in the general election. The Fine Gael hopeful secured 42 per cent of a nationwide alternative opinion poll run by bookmakers Ladbrokes, which asked 18 to 25 year olds to choose between candidates based on “who was the hottest”. Ms Yore, finished comfortably ahead of Fianna Fáil’s candidate in Louth, James Carroll, who won 27 per cent of the vote. The poll also asked approximately 200 young people to choose between possible “celebrity” taoisigh with RTÉ presenter Miriam O’Callaghan emerging victorious. ELECTION ONLINE THE BEST BITS FROM YOUTUBE Clearly Michael Lowry has gone above and beyond the call of duty in securing the young vote in Tipperary North.

He has this toddler’s vote – if she had one of course. http//tinyurl.com/6krs3ks Did you know the digital revolution has begun? Well in case you didn’t, Fine Gael is letting us know that it has. Democracy 2.0 is what they call it in this up-tempo campaign video.http//tinyurl.com/6d3e8ow Another election spat for TV3 TV3 HAS found itself at the centre of another election-related spat – this time involving Fianna Fáil and political editor Ursula Halligan. Following Halligan’s interview with Enda Kenny on Vincent Browne (Mr Kenny had said he will not be interviewed by Browne) a Fianna Fáil statement suggested that TV3 had agreed not to ask the Fine Gael leader about his pension arrangements. The party retracted its statement later yesterday after assurances from the broadcaster it would never agree to such preconditions. The Fianna Fáil statement said “If our inquiries about Fine Gaels tactics created any question mark over Ms Halligan’s independence or professionalism, we apologise to her and her team at TV3.”.

FG’s pledge to build new hospital in five years

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:51:40 +0000

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by Ann Casey Comments (1) Print Email Party says talks have already been held with potential PPP investors Damien English said investors would build the hospital and the State would buy it back over a 25-year period. The proposed new Regional Hospital for the North-East will be built in Navan within five years if the party forms the next government. That was the pledge issued this week by the five Fine Gael candidates contesting the election in Meath West and Meath East. The FG candidates have outlined proposals to progress the project through a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement and have indicated that they are aware of several different investors, both at home and abroad, who would be willing to invest in the project. While their commitment was welcomed by the Save Navan Hospital campaign and other election candidates, they cautioned against promises made in the teeth of an election campaign. The Fine Gael candidates – Deputy Damien English, Cllr Catherine Yore, Cllr Ray Butler, Deputy Shane McEntee and Cllr Regina Doherty – believe that the 500-bed hospital can be built and funded through a PPP scheme, with a State buyout over a 25 year term from the date of handover. We have had discussions with the HSE building management team and the project is one of the major developments on their list of priorities, which was submitted to the Department of Finance in 2010, they said in a joint statement issued this week.

We outlined to them that funds will be available to design, plan and build the project, which will take five years to complete. There will be 2,500 jobs in the construction of the hospital and 3,000 full-time jobs in the provision of services on the site. We in Fine Gael recognise that the population of the north-east will increase by 250,000 people over the next 20 years and we have to plan and prepare for that, they said. Deputy Damien English said they had held talks with investors, both here in Ireland and abroad, who were willing to invest in the hospital, which is likely to cost in the region of 600 million. He said the investors would build the hospital and the State would buy it back over a 25-year period. He said the project would have to go out to tender, and the initial planning stages would take about two years, with construction taking a further two-and-a-half years. Chairman of the Save Navan Hospital Campaign, Cllr Peadar Toibin, pointed out the emergency department in Our Ladys Hospital is currently under threat. Our psychiatric unit is under threat and the orthopaedic services are under threat. While I welcome that Fine Gael have joined with other parties to support the building of a regional hospital, I would caution against promises made by all these parties in the teeth of an election campaign, he said.

This county has received grandiose promises about the hospital over the last 10 years and none of them have come through. In actual fact, the opposite has happened, cuts have ensued. I think it was clear on 30th October, when 10,000 people took to the streets of Navan in support of the hospital, that this county wont be taken for granted again. I invite parties to show real and long-term commitment for the hospital by supporting the Save Navan Hospital campaign for a new regional hospital in this county, he said.

Cllr Shane Cassells said his position had always been to pursue the project in whatever way it could be delivered. He said that he had already spoken with parties interested in delivering the hospital through a PPP. I am glad that Fine Gael are coming on board with something that we have set out already. There arent the funds available in the capital budget to build it out of the public purse. We proposed a PPP already and that is why we have been driving the project through our county development plan, he said.

Regional Health Forum member, Cllr Joe Reilly, said the Fine Gael statement raised a number of questions and said it would be cruel in the extreme if this was an election stunt to raise the hopes of the medical profession, patients and the general public. He questioned where would the State funding come from for

FG denies preconditions for Kenny interview

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:49:36 +0000

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IRISH TIMES REPORTERS Fine Gael has denied allegations that it tried to censor an interview with party leader Enda Kenny on Newstalk Radio. The interview, which was conducted yesterday and broadcast on this morning’s Breakfast Show , did not allude to the controversy surrounding Mr Kenny’s teacher’s pension. Newstalk’s Chris O’Donoghue revealed that Mr Kenny only agreed to the interview so long as there was no mention of the issue, prompting Fianna Fáil’s John Curran to accuse Fine Gael of censorship. “Fine Gael’s insistence that Enda Kenny not be asked certain questions reflects that party’s approach to running away from scrutiny when challenged,” he said. However, Fine Gael denied the accusation, saying Mr Kenny dealt with the issue in a speech by the leader yesterday. A report in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post revealed Mr Kenny had deferred a €100,000 lump sum payment from his teachers’ pension due when he turns 60 in April until he retires from politics. Mr Kenny is also due a €30,000 pension from teaching on top of his salary as a TD. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin accused Mr Kenny of “rank hypocrisy” given the Fine Gael leader’s public criticism of outgoing ministers for accepting severance payments.

Speaking at a Fine Gael rally at the Aviva Stadium yesterday, Mr Kenny said he would not be accepting any pension, saying he had not taken “one red cent” from his former profession in more than 30 years. Under a long-standing agreement, teaching jobs are kept open for TDs. Fianna Fáil Minister Pat Carey, another former teacher, confirmed he received a tax-free lump sum of €120,000. Mr Carey said he taught for 30 years and resigned his teaching position in 2008 when he was appointed a minister, adding that he was in receipt of a teaching pension. A number of Fine Gael TDs are former teachers, including Donegal South West deputy Dinny McGinley who said he had resigned his post many years ago. “If I’m re-elected, I’ll be taking no teacher’s pension,” he said. Other former teachers in Fine Gael include the party’s spokesman on finance Michael Noonan. Donegal North East TD Joe McHugh, Dublin South TD Olivia Mitchell and Dublin South West’s Brian Hayes said they never held permanent posts so had no pension entitlements.

One of Fine Gael’s candidates in Dún Laoghaire, Mary Mitchell-O’Connor, is a school principal. Mr Kenny’s fellow Mayo deputy John O’Mahony confirmed he was in receipt of a teacher’s pension, having retired before he was elected, but added that he presumed that sitting TDs will not be allowed to keep pensions from other professions in the future. Louth TD Fergus O’Dowd said he had resigned his teaching post two years ago and deferred his pension entitlements.

“There’s one thing I’ll ask of you. Fight for our young people”

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:49:03 +0000

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Mr Forde went on to remark upon the generous pensions that retiring ministers will now enjoy. “I’ll be honest with you, Peter. I know your family all my life as you know yourself but there’s too much money been squandered. I don’t see the purpose of giving Mary Harney €300,000 and her walking out of her job and €140,000 per year pension. That doesn’t add up now when we have young people going away with no work. There’s people on the breadline and there’s people starving in this country,” he said. There is little doubt that this is a difficult election campaign for all Fianna Fail candidates including Peter Kelly who is fighting to retain his seat in the Longford Westmeath constitutency. But when the Leader joined the local TD on the campaign trail last week, he was in affable mode, listening intently to what people had to say and chatting easily on most doorsteps. “I’ll probably give you number one, Peter,” said Joe McAdam.

“I don’t see you (Fianna Fail) getting in to be honest but I think you’ll come up a bit from where you are.” John Forde offered another positive view as he looked at the constituency breakdown. “Are you heading for the Dail again, Peter? The more of them that’s in it from Longford, the better,” he said. “I’ll vote for Peter, no bother.” Jobs became the focus once again when Peter Kelly knocked on the door of Carmel Carthy. “Is there going to be a big emphasis on jobs?” she asked. “The job situation is just ridiculous. There’s nothing. It’s crazy.

Longford is just the forgotten county.” Despite the pressure, however, the former publican and funeral director remains approachable throughout his canvass trail, where he was joined by Cllr Martin Mulleady of Drumlish. “I do believe that on my record working with people like Cllr Martin Mulleady that we will retain the seat and continue to work on behalf of the people of Longford to address all the local issues. The people here are mainly concerned with local issues,” said Mr Kelly.

Cllr Mulleady told the Leader that he was happy to put his own amibtions for Dail Eireann on the back burner and offer his full support to Peter Kelly. “Every election is a training ground, but I’m happy enough. I made a decision and I’m backing Peter so hopefully he will get elected and keep the seat. It might be easier getting the seat the next time if the seat is here to be got,” he said. “More than likely James Bannon is going to get elected but all they have to do is come out and say we done all the harm. But what’s his agenda? It’s one thing only Blame Fianna Fail.” var addthis_config = services_exclude ‘email, print’ Email to a friend Print this page News Local. .