100 posts
What if…Ireland had joined the Allies in World War ll?
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They buried Eamonn De Valera on the 1st October 1943, nearly two weeks after the car crash on the Rock road, Blackrock, which had claimed the life of both the Taoiseach and his Garda driver. Given his iconic status in the political pantheon of the Fr...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Life: The Affair.
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It wasn’t like they had planned it. He was single, out of a messy relationship. She was married with two young kids and a husband who was not by any accounts a bad guy. It just happened. They met at a work related social event, and their eyes,...
DPP issues warrants for arrest of millions of foreigners who wrecked Irish economy.
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The Director of Public Prosecutions has issued millions of warrants for as yet unnamed non-Irish nationals in connection with the reckless borrowing of money and purchasing of property in Ireland which created the massive collapse in the Irish econom...
EU ‘Austerity’ Deal won’t work – Irish Workers face a grim Future
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The EU summit on Friday 9 December, during which 26 out of 27 member countries agreed on a new intergovernmental treaty including a “fiscal compact” to enforce budgetary discipline on states which...
What we want Vs. what we need.
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One of the more curious aspects of our current austerity programme is how slapdash it is. You could easily form the impression that the government is approaching the cutbacks with a hand down the back of the couch approach, looking for money wherever...
Ireland's Euro-diplomacy (and Debate)
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Last night's Tonight with Vincent Browne debated the Irish government's (and Taoiseach Enda Kenny's) ability to negotiate in the EU. Key to this was an exchange in the Dáil where Michael Martin (the Leader of the Opposition) questioned Kenny's appro...
Imagine if the Dail was made up of parties that really reflected what we believe.
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The Tax Everyone But Me Party. 90 seats The Tax Everyone But Me But Say It Is For Social Justice Or Something Don’t Forget My NGO For The Few Bob Party. 30 seats The Tax Everyone But Me Aren’t the English Bastards Because Of Stuff That Ha...
How fundraising can help Irish politics.
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Interesting Youtube piece below from President Obama’s campaign manager about fundraising. In Europe, we tend to sneer at the effect money has on US elections, and how raising money is as important as getting actual votes, but there is a very p...
Ireland may need a new bailout - Predictable, so predictable
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The Irish Times has published a report suggesting that a new bailout for Ireland will most probably be necessary, coupled with a debt restructuring, just like in Greece, in order to keep the country above water, given the tough economic conditions it...
A great movie: The Last Hurrah.
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If you want to understand Irish politics, you could do far worse than watch John Ford’s 1958 classic “The Last Hurrah”, starring Spencer Tracy as (basically) the mayor of Boston seeking reelection to a fifth term. It’s good ol...
Jason’s Diary
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A couple of things caught my eye today. Firstly, consider this story here, and consider how it is dealt with in the US here. Any mention of sex, and conservatives are all over it. Is it me, or do things in the US get politicised to a degree that they...
The “carnage” on our roads.
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I’m posting this on New Year’s Eve. Here’s a prediction about the weekend: The AA or the Gardai will have issued a “Call” for drivers to “exercise caution” over the weekend. By Monday night, a number of youn...
Let the opposition set TDs salaries and pensions annually.
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Most Irish politicians are liars. The curious thing is that only some of them actually know it. I have met elected officials who have genuinely not been aware that they were lying. “But we didn’t bring in a local tax. We promised not to.
Just what does it take to start an Irish Tea Party, then?
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The speculation in the Irish Times about yet another hefty tax charge on home owners, this time for water, got me wondering. Is there a breaking point, a moment of realisation, where a substantial section of the income tax paying population declare e...
The Irish Psyche.
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It seems to me that there are certain attributes that make up the Irish psyche: 1. A deep suspicion of ideas. We’ve never been great on the abstract concept or ideology. An Irishman would think little of going from being a Communist to a Capita...
12 predictions for 2012.
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1. Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein will be level pegging in polls for top place by the end of the year. 2. Enda will become a convert to Seanad Reform. 3. Ireland will vote Yes to the Fiscal Compact after a deal is agreed which lowers the rate a...
EU - a laboratory of democracy?
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Despite the depth of the crisis, Ireland remains positively disposed to the European Union. Rather than just becoming a focus for anti-EU sentiment, its culture of referendums means that the electorate is keenly aware of issues affecting the union, s...
We have only two political parties in Ireland. Really.
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In the run up to the last general election, there were two dominant themes. The governing faction had to negotiate with the EU, IMF, ECB whilst cutting spending on programmes we could no longer afford and implementing humiliating decisions handed dow...
Ireland's State of the Nation Address
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Ireland's Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, made what is only the 6th state of the nation address on Sunday evening before the new government's first austerity budget (to be announced over Monday and Tuesday). Brian Cowen, the last Taoiseach, was criticised for...
An Irish referendum?
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When Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny travelled to Berlin mid November, Chancellor Angela Merkel asked him if it was possible for Ireland to avoid having a referendum on an amended EU treaty. Kenny, according to one account by someone familiar with th...
Meltdown
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This will be the situation if the markets are disappointed by the decisions of the European Council on 9 December. If this happens the market will probably sell every euro denominated asset. We can only hope that the worst case scenario can be avoide...
Vote for the Irish Council Presidency's logo
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You can now vote for the logo of the Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union (to be held in the first have of 2013; currently held by Poland, but Denmark will take over in the new year). You can find the designs and vote here.I liked th...
Ireland's Enda Kenny bane of euro?
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Tomorrow, Friday 18 November 2011 (see calendar), prime minister David Cameron has an opportunity to impress chancellor Merkel in Berlin with his vision of British Europe. More serious for the prospects of the eurozone were the statements from Enda K...
Fianna Fail to sue Fine Gael over copyright infringement.
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Fianna Fail have instructed its lawyers to begin legal proceedings against Fine Gael on the grounds that Fine Gael is actually implementing patented Fianna Fail policies in government. “It’s a disgrace,” a Fianna Fail spokesperson t...
Some things I have learnt about Irish Politics.
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The first election campaign I was ever directly involved in was the 1991 local elections, where I canvassed for Jeananne Crowley in the Pembroke Ward, a seat I’d contest myself in the 1999 elections. After that, I campaigned in local, general,...
Opposition parties to be replaced by iPhone App.
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The government has announced, as part of its cost cutting programme, that opposition members of the Oireachtas are to be abolished and replaced with a free downloadable iPhone app. Speaking to the house, Michael Noonan, the minister for finance, rev...
End of an Era
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Tonight at midnight Mary McAleese finishes her Presidency after 14 years as President of the Republic of Ireland. While I do not remember much of her election or the campaign preceding it, I do have a memory of much of her years as President a...
Tracing Your Roots Back To Ireland
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The Clare Roots Society, brainchild of Ennis gentleman Larry Brennan, was formed in April 2006 as an recreational genealogy group in Clare. The Club meets once per month in Ennis, and now has over 100 participants. Any person with an interest in trac...
If we didn’t have Fianna Fail, would we invent it now?
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I’ve been paying attention to Ogra Fianna Fail’s national conference in Cork this week, and it’s an interesting insight into the party. Consider the following link, which is to the various policy motions being debated. There are som...
Irish parliament to be replaced by actors.
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The Irish Tourist Board has proposed that the membership of the lower house of the Irish Parliament, Dail Eireann, be replaced by well known Irish actors. A source in the state agency said: “The thinking is that, as proven by opposition deputi...
Ireland – Presidential Elections 2011
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Michael Higgins is set to become the ninth president of the Republic of Ireland, replacing Mary McAleese who will soon complete the second of her permitted two five year terms. Rivals in the election conceded to Higgins as early results suggested tha...
The beauty of the Single Transferable Vote.
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As my Irish readers and I go to the polls today to elect a new president, amend our constitution and in one constituency elect a new member of parliament, a thought about the voting system we will use, the Single Transferable Vote. STV allows voters...
Would a Gallagher win be a vote of confidence for Fianna Fail values?
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Sean Gallagher: FF we forgive you. Today’s poll in the Sunday Business Post is interesting reading for Sean Gallagher, and must surely seal his place in Irish politics as a player even if he doesn’t win the presidential election. What I...
Presidential Roundup: Four weeks out.
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Martin McGuinness: Holding solidly, and the attacks on him about his PIRA past will probably do little, because it is old news. Having said that, he needs to watch his tendency to talk about some southern sections of society the way he talks about ha...
Dana to refuse to “kneel before Zod”
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General Zod: Not welcome in Dana’s Aras. Irish presidential candidate Dana Rosemary Scallon has confirmed that if elected president of Ireland next month she will refuse to kneel before General Zod or any other extra-terrestial conqueror. Speak...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Young Buck on the Make.
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Traditionally, you’d have seen him in greatest numbers in Fianna Fail, although he’s recently migrated across to the Blues and even Labour these days. He’ll be in his traditional garb, a slightly too large suit, and a good sensible...
Norris Tantalisingly Close To Nomination, Dana still in the race.
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With less then seven days to the close of nominations for the Irish Presidential Election. Senator David Norris has 17 nominations from Oireachtas members but he is going to find it very hard to get the final three signatures. The 17 Oireachtas membe...
What happens to Ireland if Greece defaults
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This piece first appeared in the Guardian on September 21st and has been reposted here with the Guardian’s permission. Greece is hanging by a thread and Ireland is getting increasingly nervous about the implications for its own future. The whol...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Pro-Choice Bigot.
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She delights in sneering at people with religious beliefs. Not Jews or Muslims, of course, because even though she holds their beliefs in equal contempt as with the Christians, she recognizes that it is only acceptable to chastise certain faiths. But...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The washed-up former TD.
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He used to be a contender. You frown as you look at the face. Isn’t that…your man? Of course, the face is ruddier now, plump and full and the hair is thinner and greyer, but didn’t he used to be..? Fifteen or twenty years ago, he wa...
Davis gets two more Nominations and Dana Announces
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Today has seen a number of events in the race for the Presidency. Firstly the Independent Candidate Mary Davis picked up two further Council nominations with Louth County Council and North Tipperary County Council both voting for Ms Davis as they had...
Martin McGuinness as Irish president? You never know | Fionola Meredith
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In a country hurt by severe economic decline, disillusioned voters could well elect the former IRA manMartin McGuinness has said his past as an IRA commander should not be a barrier to becoming president of the Republic of Ireland. The truly extraord...
Have your say in the Presidential Election
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After Wednesday the 28th of September the nominations for the Irish Presidential Election will be over and the focus will turn to the voters and what we think. As the elections is on Thursday 27th October, the deadline for registering to vote is Mond...
Is Michael Martin becoming FF’s John Major?
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Stephen Collins’s piece in The Irish Times here is indicative of a issue that is beginning to permeate Fianna Fail. The fact is, aside from being in power, there’s little that holds the party together save for its more reactionary eleme...
PollWatch: Sunday Independent/Millward Brown Landsdowne
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The Sunday Independent has two polls in it today in relation to the Presidential Election today. I am going to ignore the “less scientific, Sunday Independent/ Quantum Research” poll. The poll found support for the declared candidates as...
Could online primaries hold the key to Fianna Fail renewal?
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Watching the Fianna Fail “Think-in in Tallaght” I was struck by the relative shallowness of it all. In fairness, I don’t blame Fianna Fail. Having gone from being one of the most successful parties in the democratic world to this, i...
Consumer confidence is the key.
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When I’m not sitting at home in front of my laptop writing this stuff, I work in an industry with both trade and retail aspects to it. From this viewpoint, I can tell you that consumer confidence is a serious issue in Ireland which is holding b...
Sean Gallagher is an Official Candidate
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Sean Gallagher tonight secured his final two nominations needed to contest the Presidential Election. Following his nomination last week by Leitrim County Council and Meath Council, Mr Gallagher was today nominated by Clare County Council and Cork Ci...
Mary Davis Makes History!
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Mary Davis has made history this evening after receiving her tenth nomination for the Presidency. That is twice the number Dane Rosemary Scanlon received in 1997. Last week she received nominations from Galway County Council and Sligo County Counci...
Mary Davies an Official Candidate for President
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Today Mary Davies became the first Independent Candidate to get the backing of four councils for this years Presidential Election. Both Monaghan and South Tipperary Councils passed official nominations, meaning that Ms Davies has passed the constitut...
Crying All The Way To The Bank
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Ireland’s Minister for Finance Michael Noonan is an optimistic man. He is also a persistent one. He is optimistic, since he clearly feels that his country’s 85 billion euro IMF/EU programme is going to work as planned, and he is persisten...
State of the Parties.
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Fine Gael: The Blues continue to lead strongly in the polls, a mixture of the shine still remaining on the election ball mixed with the fact that Enda Kenny is settling nicely into the job as Taoiseach. On top of that, Fine Gael continues to outlin...
Fianna Fail won’t Facilitate a Norris Run
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RTÉ reported last night that a party whip was being applied to Fianna Fail TD’s and Senators to stop them individually nominating Independent candidates. Speaking in an interview aired on RTÉ’s This Week In Politics, Seán Ó Fearghail,...
13 Councils to decide on Presidential Nominations Today
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13 County and City Councils will today decide which candidate to back in the years Presidential Election. Four Local Authorities nominations are needed by a candidate to be on the ballot. So far four Councils have passed nominations. Galway County Co...
Former president of Ireland: Ireland is "a developing country"
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The situation in Ireland must be much worse than generally thought - at least that´s the impression one gets from this interview with former Irish president Mary Robinson:Mrs Robinson said she hoped the EU and Ireland would continue to pla...
Norris to re-enter Race for the Aras?
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The Sunday Independent is reporting that David Norris is to re-enter the race for the Presidency. After withdrawing from the race over the summer I am surprised at his re-entry to the race. His reasons for re-enter seem to be because of the support...
Race for the Aras Gets Under-way
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This week has the campaign for the Irish Presidency has got properly under-way. Official nominations have begun to passed by nominating Local Authorities. So far five local authorities have used there constitutional right to nominate a candidate. Sea...
A Non Irishman’s Guide to the Irish Voting System, the Single Transferable Vote.
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I was asked a while back to explain the Irish voting system to non-Irish people. Here goes: Understanding Irish politics begins by understanding our voting system, which shapes everything else. It’s called the Single Transferable Vote, and it w...
Things that could happen if we left the Euro.
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I’m not an economist, but assuming that An Punt Nua would be devalued: 1. Tourism, and employment in tourism, would improve, at least from countries with stronger currencies like Switzerland and Germany. 2. Exports would initially be stronger.
All the national sovereignty you can eat.
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A reader, Davidaod, posted the following comment: “Europe needs to c**t off and give back as much sovereignty to member states as possible.” Aside from the colourful expletive, what I found particularly interesting was his use of the phra...
Ireland nears its guff-free moment on Europe.
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Listening to Merkel and Sarkozy yesterday, it looks like a fiscal union is, if not on the cards, then certainly capable of appearing in the next pack. From an Irish perspective, this is going to mean that we actually have to do some serious thinking...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Illegitimate President.
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The Aras: Where our Florida style president lives. The elction was clean. He won a clear majority of the votes, after preferences were distributed, and his opponents have conceded and rung to congratulate him. Ireland has elected a new head of state.
An Occasional Guide to Irish Life: Dublin Airport.
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Dublin airport is a unique institution, because it is THE airport for most of the country. The huge majority of the country have used it at some time, and it is a wonderful place to observe the state of the nation. Five years ago, it was where one wo...
No Country is an Island: Ireland and the IMF
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Speaking to the pain and anger of the Irish people at the toll the economic adjustment has taken on their daily lives, the IMF’s mission chief Ajai Chopra was clear during a press conference today in Dublin: the end goals is to protect the poor an...
An Occasional Guide to Irish Life: The Day Out to IKEA.
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It’s still, for the Irish, an event. You don’t just “pop in” to IKEA, but put aside a half day, usually with a “Sure, we can get a bite to eat out there” thrown in. Sitting in the restaurant, you can see the spectr...
Final thoughts on Garret.
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Some of us gathered at the Mansion House to pay our respects to Garret. A number of things struck me. First, the mix of people, in age and geographical mix. There were some who said that Garret was very much just a representative of Dublin Four, but...
Irish Bailout: A First Review
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A lower estimate of Ireland's bank bill provides breathing room in the country's €67.5 billion bailout.
Do we need a Voter Protection Agency?
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Seriously, I’m not taking the piss here, and I know how it looks for me to be talking about setting up another sodding quango. But consider the challenge that faces us. It’s completely normal for us to have consumer protection laws and ag...
Jason’s Diary
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Gerry Lynch of the Alliance Party tipped me off to this little treasure. Love it. But remind me: wasn’t an Ireland inside the United Kingdom ruled by a home rule parliament the very thing that Northern unionists blocked for years? Or do they pr...
To keep the Irish Corporate Tax, or not to keep?
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We have been there so many times before, during the Lisbon Treaty referendum, during the IMF/EU loan to Ireland...One "important" Irish national issue that needs to be negotiated between Irish politicians and their European counterparts (especially F...
Jason’s Diary
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Am I the only person under 40 who doesn’t get Jedward? It’s a career, they’re making money, fair enough. I just don’t get why adults give them so much attention. The front of the Irish Times? Really? Is that supposed to make u...
Must-Read: Ireland’s Dr. Doom
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Ireland's Dr. Doom unleashes another broadside about the country's banks and bailouts. A must-read.
Odds and Ends.
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Interesting move by Fianna Fail to open up their presidential nominating process, as detailed here. Let’s hope they mean it, and that a few Oireachtas members and councillors have the courage of their convictions to follow FF Cllr. Malcom Byrn...
Odds and Ends.
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I was asked recently as to whether, viewing so many of my friends and peers holding public office, do I miss being in politics? Would I not be tempted to run again? The answer, after some thought, has been no, for the simple reason that I just don...
Odds and Ends.
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The response of some public servants to the scrapping of the 30 mins cheque cashing time is quite revealing. What it shows is that there is a large section of the public sector who are not actually being selfish or mean, but genuinely believe that su...
The Icelandic Option.
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No, I’m not talking about a Robert Ludlum novel. I’m talking about the possibility being pushed by Stephen Donnelly TD and others of a referendum on the EU/IMF deal, and the bank bailout. I have to admit to being undecided myself, as both...
Ireland Banking Day of DOOOOOM
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The government is announcing the results of stress tests at 4:30pm today and is expected...
ECB prepares emergency liquidity facility for troubled euro zone banks
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The European Central Bank is putting together a lending facility for troubeled euro zone banks. Reuters quotes a source saying that "this will replace the ELA (Emergency Liquidity Assistance) that is currently being provided by the Irish central...
EU summit: Ireland, deal or no deal?
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Until Portugal imploded, most of the focus of the two-day summit was expexted to be on the new Irish prime minister Enda Kenny, who failed to secure a cut in Dublin's bail-out loans during an emegency gathering two weeks ago.Continue reading: "EU sum...
Ireland for sale
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It seems a rich, if not bitter, irony that on the feast of Saint Patrick, the day Ireland pats itself on the back, that its new government should announce a plan to sell off its state assets, the “crown jewels”, as the Irish Independen...
Coveney, Creighton and Europe
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A lot of people mentioned to me that were surprised that Simon Coveney was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food. To me it was no surprise, not only is Simon popular with farmers, in a Red C Poll for the Irish Farmers Journal Simon was...
“Entitled”: The Dirtiest Word in Irish Society?
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Every now and again an Irish newspaper runs a story like this. Now, this’ll surprise a lot of people, but I actually don’t believe the core message of these stories. Yeah, there are some people who are taking the piss with our welfare s...
Post Electoral Regret Syndrome
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For most of my teens and early twenties I desperately wanted to be a TD. I worked in the party, got elected to positions, and eventually got selected as a candidate for the local elections, which I crashed spectacularly out of. When I was running, I...
Oh Jaysus, there’s a fella wanting to give me a kiss!
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I just love Enda’s “Don’t look uncomfortable Don’t look uncomfortable! I hope Noonan doesn’t tell the lads about this!” Look.
Labour: A brick wall vs. a hard place.
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It’s time it was said: Labour had a mediocre election. I’ll pause here for a moment to let the indignation rise. Best number of seats ever, etc. Yes, I know. But seriously: Fianna Fail was like Himmler at a Bar Mitzvah and Labour beat the...
Time for Fianna Fail to admit that Des O’Malley was right.
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As Fianna Fail stumbles from the wreckage of its once formidable jumbo onto the desert island of potential political armageddon, it needs to recognise that everything has to be on the table in terms of political reconstruction. There will be a tempta...
Irish General Election 2011: Some early thoughts
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The first day of counting is over (Ireland uses the PR-STV system in its general elections), and at the time of writing the results for the 166 Dáil seats stand at: Fine Gael 68; Labour 35; Fianna Fáil 17; Sinn Féin 13; ULA 4; Others 13, so 147/16...
Election 2011: Wow.
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We all knew from the polls that it was coming, but still, to witness it on the day, to see household names, political big beasts, not just lose their seats but go down in flames, getting beaten on first preferences by people you have never heard of&#...
Shape of next Irish government still unclear
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While it doesn’t compare to the turmoil in the Arab world, Ireland is having its own abrupt political turnover this weekend. Although the broad outline of the results is clear, confirming a collapse in the vote of the hitherto natural party o...
Count Day Musings.
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8:00am: Finally! FG will be disappointed with 36%. Not as good as Garrett’s 39% in Nov 1982. But with 15% for FF and Inds, that’s a lot of transfers knocking around, and with that sort of first preference, FG can wait around to hoover the...
