DonabatePortrane.net

So the election is upon us, I only added names of people who might have a chance.

When you put it like that... eh
Worse n worser

feck, is that it, can't say i think any of them are worth my vote!

Sydney wrote:When you put it like that... eh
Worse n worser

Here is what I am thinking. And it is subject to change. I agree it's a bad selection and I think there is f - all difference between FG / FF and Labour. However, on FF's watch the country fell apart because they and their mates got very greedy. So for that reason for it's:

1. FG
2. FG
3. Renua
4. Labour
5. Green machine
6. Daly - Like her but I am pro property tax and water charges and find all her protesting without a real alternative annoying.

It makes me sick saying some of the above.

Complete Rogues gallery.

James Reilly (Fine Gael / Business) - Well not a performer at all in the last government. Not happy with him at all.

Alan Farrell (Fine Gael / Business) - Another one of the 'jobs for the boys' (in this case Wives). Not Happy with that.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail / Brown envelopes) - Well another 20 years in the dog house before I will even contemplate voting for them after they destroyed the country.

Louise O'Reilly (Sinn Fein / IRA) - You must be joking if I am going to vote for a bunch of thugs.

Brendan Ryan (Labour / Public Sector)- 'Labour is not into Working' basically covers them.

Terry Kelleher (People before Profit / People who don't want to pay any tax and never make a profit) - Opportunists so no.

Joe O'Brien (Green Party / Tree hugging PC wannabe liberals) - Well another 20 years in the dog house before I will even contemplate voting for them after they destroyed the country.

Clare Daly (Independents / Principled head bangers) - Another poor performer in the Dail with a fondness of breaking the law of the land and associating with dodgy characters.

Gerry Molly (Renua / Pro-life richies only) - I can safely say that I know nothing about them.

Are there any other candidates otherwise the country is stuffed (again)!!

Well, I reckon the parties break down like this:

Fine Gael: Centre right party.
Fianna Fail: Centre right party but completely incompetent.
Renua: Centre right party but completely pointless.
Labour: Centre left party.
Greens: Centre left party but politically naive.
Social Democrats: Centre left party but completely pointless.
Sinn Fein: Hard left party with barmy economic policies.
AAAPBP: Hard left party with barmy economic policies merged with another hard left party with barmy economic policies.
Clare Daly: Claims to be a hard left maverick. In reality just a populist with no plausible economic policies. Thinks it's ok to break the law if you don't agree with the law. Thinks it's ok for her mate, Mick Wallace, to renege on his taxes, thus proving that she's not a proper socialist. Professional whinger.

Those are your choices, folks!

I don't think Ireland has a Centre Left Party. Labour fly the flag (just like the rest of 'em) for the low corporate tax and when it comes to a choice between cutting public sector pay or cutting allowances for kids with special needs they'll choose the later. They are the political party for the unions - Siptu are on the executive council - so their policies will favour the unions. Who aren't the neediest in society.

The other thing about Labour I don't like, they seem to promote the neo-liberal idea that both parents must work. All this means is that mortgages go up (since prices are based on two wages) and people have less family time.

Mr. Stupid wrote:

Sydney wrote:When you put it like that... eh
Worse n worser

Here is what I am thinking. And it is subject to change. I agree it's a bad selection and I think there is f - all difference between FG / FF and Labour. However, on FF's watch the country fell apart because they and their mates got very greedy. So for that reason for it's:

1. FG
2. FG
3. Renua
4. Labour
5. Green machine
6. Daly - Like her but I am pro property tax and water charges and find all her protesting without a real alternative annoying.

It makes me sick saying some of the above.

My main concern is the number of people who will believe the spin and base their votes because they think FG have been doing a grand job.

In reality, despite promising (lying) pre-last-election that they will do things differently, FG have simply implemented FF policies. FF knackered this country for generations and for that reason won't be getting a vote from me, but they did start to introduce policies to get us back on track. All FG did was implement these same policies. People don't really want to see that though.

In terms if being pro water tax. May I ask why you are pro another tax? If FG had introduced a pro-breathing tax (as would have been their right to do so with a majority government), would you question it or simply accept it because it was law? What I'm trying to establish is if you would just accept any new law/rules that any givernment brought in because it's the right thing to do, or is there any law/tax you would oppose? That question is really to anyone who supports the water tax in it's current guise.

One thing I don't get about the Irish Water quango....recently we have had a number of water outages in this are, like we've never seen before. Each time, I have seen Fingal Co. Co staff working on the fix, yet IW are the people you go to for updates. Is there money being wasted there somewhere?

I digress......My opinion is that Property Tax and Water Tax were simply introduced to pay our debts. They were spun and disguised to say things like " we are the only country in Europe without them", " they're to pay for infrastructure" etc etc. I generally don't fall for spin and can see that they are simply taxes being collected to go straight to pay our debts/bondholders. You can dress it up any way you wan't but thats the reality.

This is what I don't agree with. I'm not totally against the idea of property charges/water charges, however I'm against what they are really in place for. You can either be the sheep that says we've made our bed and must lie in it, or you can be the person that likes to question things and call things exactly as they are. Thing is, we didn't make our bed this way. We didn't bankrupt the country. We didn't owe 100's of millions to NAMA without any penalties whatsoever, and are now suddenly allowed to become a big celebrity developer once again. We didn't buy a GSM licence from a Minister, get away with it and go on to earn hundreds of millions from it, and subsequently go on to profit from Water Meter installations. I could go on....

This is what I'm against. This is what FG promised to stamp out pre-election last time. And this is what FG decided was best to keep the status quo and simply tax the people instead.

As a nation we (ie: successive governments) appear to welcome corruption with open arms. We like to reward the corrupters simply because they have extrodinary amounts of money and/or power. And then we accept every tax levelled upon us because sure thats the way it's always been.

I don't think like that though. And whilst I'm no socialist, to be fair to Clare Daly, she's a bloody hard worker for her constituency. She may not have popular opinions in the eyes of the media and middle classes, however she does work tirelessly and she fights for what she believes in.

FG/FF/Lab etc only fight for what their party believes in. They aren't allowed to express their own opinions publicly.

So in terms of paying for water, what are the alternatives?
I'm no economist, but a quick Google will show you the many ways economists have said could raise the same money. One such example is a 0.01% levy (yes 0.01 and not 0.1) on all financial transactions which would raise in the region of €500mn, more than the water tax is going to raise.

Bring in a system, not a quango, that is fit for purpose and then a few years down the line people may start to pay for water. The cost to set up IW (including the mystery €80mn that went on consulatancy fees initially), would have covered the cost to fix the leaks. Why didn't they do this you say when the money was there to do it? Because, in my opinion, if they had fixed the leaks before charging us for water, people would have said, why the need to charge now so? It goes to show that the priority was not about fixing leaks, but was about charging us. How crazy is that. The money to fix the leaks has been spent on setting up IW. And no-one questions this?

Apologies for the long post. But I could go on and on.

One other thing I will say to people, is please don't just accept the status quo. Don't believe everything you read or see in the media. Question everything and have a list of questions ready to ask the candidates when they land at your door. And keep an open mind!

just want to add something in terms of water charges.....

when we start to get charged the full whack in about a years time or so, we will be paying €3.70 per thousand litres.

this compares to €1.38 in Italy, €1.77 in Portugal, €1.89 in Spain, €3.23 in the UK and €6.33 in Denmark.

Bear in mind the average bill in these countries is as follows:
Italy = €248
Portugal = €318
Spain = €340
UK = €646
Denmark = €1139

Just to give you some idea of what we will expect to be paying in a couple of years time

micropoodle wrote: In reality, despite promising (lying) pre-last-election that they will do things differently, FG have simply implemented FF policies.

The biggest scam of all is FF tells us:
1. That FG are only looking out for the better of in society.
2. That FG are only implementing FF policies.

I am in favour of property tax, water charges etc I haven't seen one feasible alternative. The only other one we tried was stamp duty which was a disaster.

Obviously there are issues with FG, how property tax, water charges have been implemented but anyone expecting perfection will be waiting a long time. On the main things, employment, economy etc. given what this government inherited they did a good job. Other things (homelessness) as I said, they didn't.

Mr. Stupid wrote:

micropoodle wrote: In reality, despite promising (lying) pre-last-election that they will do things differently, FG have simply implemented FF policies.

The biggest scam of all is FF tells us:
1. That FG are only looking out for the better of in society.
2. That FG are only implementing FF policies.

I am in favour of property tax, water charges etc I haven't seen one feasible alternative. The only other one we tried was stamp duty which was a disaster.

Obviously there are issues with FG, how property tax, water charges have been implemented but anyone expecting perfection will be waiting a long time. On the main things, employment, economy etc. given what this government inherited they did a good job. Other things (homelessness) as I said, they didn't.

But the economy, unemployment etc was always going to improve regardless of who was in government.
We went into recession along with the rest of the world, we exited recession along with the rest of the world. It's been happeneing for decades/centuries.

We were at rock bottom. The only way was really ever going to be up. Anyone with any sense could have brought the economy to where it is today. Don't forget we are still saddled with generations of debt, so we arent a well performing economy when that is taken into account.

The areas where they had to actually do a bit or work, such as homelessness and the HSE etc, they have failed miserably.

There are feasible alternatives. Economists have proposed many solutions. My mention of the 0.01% levy earlier is one of many things worth investigating.

I certainly don't expect perfection, but I equally don't just accept the status quo.

Matt LeBlanc is joining Top Gear!!!

diggerbarnes wrote:Matt LeBlanc is joining Top Gear!!!

The first one to call to the door its the first thing ill rip into them about.The world is gone mad !!

micropoodle wrote: But the economy, unemployment etc was always going to improve regardless of who was in government.

Nah... Greece, Spain, Portugal etc went worse than us.

Anyone with any sense could have brought the economy to where it is today.

Nah... Greece, Spain, Portugal etc went worse than us.

The areas where they had to actually do a bit or work, such as homelessness and the HSE etc, they have failed miserably.

Agree.

I certainly don't expect perfection, but I equally don't just accept the status quo.

If went for similar policies to Spain / Portugal / Greece you would have done a lot worse than Ireland.

I am not a fan of Clare Daly but I think she will top the Poll. This is the way I see the seats going and being elected in this order. See If I'm right:

1. Clare Daly
2. James Reilly
3. Darragh O'Brien
4. Louise O'Reilly
5. Brendan Ryan

It baffles me how Brendan Ryan ever gets a vote. Is it the fact people vote for him purely because he's from Donabate?? Can someone enlighten me as to what he's done for the area?

Dubgirl wrote:It baffles me how Brendan Ryan ever gets a vote. Is it the fact people vote for him purely because he's from Donabate?? Can someone enlighten me as to what he's done for the area?

i don't think the vote in Donabate would be enough to elect anyone. We are only a small part of the electorate in this constituency.

i don't know the man so can't form an opinion about him one way or another but i would imagine he was voted in last time round simply because he wasn't FF. The anti-FF vote last time round ensured he was elected. In my opinion.

don't think he (or even if there was any other Labour candidate for Fingal) has a hope though this time round.

Here's my prediction in order: (not my own vote just my prediction)

1. Clare Daly
2. James Reilly
3. Darragh O'Brien
4. Louise O'Reilly

What way are you voting micropoodle?

as of right now, i honestly don't know. i'm trying to inform myself as much as i can but i don't have a whole lot of confidence in what's available. I do try not to believe everything (or anything!) I read in the media instead preferring to inform my own opinions.

there's a good chance though that I will give Clare Daly some sort of a vote. Despite her being an independent and despite some of her beliefs not aligning with my own (although the same can be said for all candidates), there's no questioning her work rate. I also believe she is genuinely passionate about her community. Prior to the last government, I had cause on a few occasions to contact the local councillors, of which Clare Daly was one. On each occasion she was the only one that responded and followed through. Others responded with the usual 'i'll raise that' and others didnt respond at all. Whereas on each occasion she followed through on her word. That's why I have respect for her.

I'm not even saying she will get my number one vote as i'm genuinely undecided still.

Dubgirl wrote:It baffles me how Brendan Ryan ever gets a vote. Is it the fact people vote for him purely because he's from Donabate?? Can someone enlighten me as to what he's done for the area?

Serious? I never even knew that. Talk about being anonymous. Daly, O'Brien much more active.

I voted for Daly last time, but I have a real problem voting for her this time around. It's to do with the protest that she staged at the airport (was it Shannon?), anyway, I have no problem that she carried out the protest, I understand why she did it and I'm happy that it was a 'legitimate' protest and made the point it was designed to. However, equally, there is no doubt, IMHO, that what she did was illegal and she was rightly found guilty and fined. My problem is that she has refused to pay the fine, this to me indicates that she believes that she is above the law!!

DH

I gave Daly a vote last time too. A reasonably high one. About a no.3 or 4 if I recall properly.

No chance of that this time.

Her publicity stunt at Shannon Airport was objectionable enough, especially the aftermath where she said it was ok for her to break the law because she doesn't agree with it. But, long before that, she became the only politician in the country (actually, probably the only person in the country) to say it was okay for Mick Wallace to renege on his taxes. That was the point that I decided she wasn't worth voting for. And not just me. Joe Higgins decided she wasn't worthy of a place in the Socialist party after that blatant betrayal of Socialist principles. So she ended up becoming an independent. An independent who thinks that everybody should pay their taxes apart from her own pal. It's a whole new level of hypocrisy.

No doubt she will be re-elected without my vote though.

And that's the distressing part. We get the politicians we deserve. Most political observers think that the tax-dodging Wallace will top the poll in Wexford. And it's generally assumed that the corrupt Lowry will stroll home in Tipperary (the same county that also elects the half-witted Mattie McGrath) while we are on the verge of electing Daly, the pro-Wallace convicted criminal. And don't forget, in the last local elections, we also re-elected the corrupt Ann Devitt to represent us on Fingal County Council. Our record for electing dodgy politicians is second to none. G.V. Wright was one of ours too, back in the day. Shameful stuff. We can't even slag off the voters of Tipperary for voting for Lowry and McGrath because we have such a bad record of voting for the dodgiest of dodgy politicians.

We need to get our act together.

I don't feel I could vote for Daly either given the reasons above. Reilly seems to have his heart in the right place. However, his competence as a politician is questionable.

It also galls me to think that SF will get a seat in the constituency. O'Reilly's comments on the murder of Garda Jerry McCabe demonstrated that, beneath the gloss, they haven't changed.

Don't even get me started on the AAA. Career politicians with looney policies that appeal to the gullible.

It will be a tough call as to who I vote for. Given the above, there's not much left.

And this is the reason why I said I don't believe everything the media says.

I doubt very much that CD said she is above the law or that Wallace shouldn't pay his taxes. Maybe you are believing the media or the hype?

The Wallace thing aside....I've certainly no time for him.....her shannon protest was exactly that, a protest. I don't blame people for protesting against war mongering. Again we can't just take the US at their word can we?

She carried out a protest and if she refuses to pay a fine then that's a risk she has to take.

Why have we lost the protesting spirit these days? Is it laziness or is it just that we are too comfortable here with our well paid jobs. I'm guilty of the latter at times. Luckily there are people out there who look out for the less fortunate.

Don't forget it's the 1916 centenary. A year in which we as a country, supported by our government, celebrate men and women who broke the law with the aim of making life better. How quickly we forget

It's fairly obvious that we have not lost the protesting spirit. Dublin City has drawn to a halt numerous times over the last few years because of protests.

But the fact is you're mixing up protests and criminal acts. It is perfectly possible to protest without breaking the law. Most people do it. Daly and Wallace, the dynamic duo, decided to break the law rather than make a protest. And then they decided not to pay the fine because they disagreed with the law. Legislators who break the law are, by definition, hypocrites. Nobody, least of all members of the legislature, has any right to break the law whether they disagree with the law or not. There's nothing wrong with protesting about America's foreign policy. We should all do that. But you can do it without putting the taxpayer to the expense of a trial and using up countless Garda hours.

It's probably the hypocrisy that annoys most people. Don't forget that Daly actually collected TD's expenses for attending anti-property tax protests. It was unclear whether that was technically breaking the rules but it was certainly a hypocritical thing to do.