Irish Politics, Politicians in Ireland, TDs, Irish Government

Alarmed, distressed, fearful or intimidated anyone?

Seen on Cuffe Street

Let the ASBOs begin…! It is Fine Gael that has me worried, though. Not the individuals themselves who are for the most part charming and pleasant, but the policies. Boot camps and drink tanks are my concern, and of course playing the fear card in politics. It has been done before of course, but let’s not forget about the causes of crime. I can’t ... Continue reading »

Election predictions for 2007

Seen on - Wicklow

Election predictions for 2007 December 31st, 2006 In a special feature in the Sunday Tribune today, the Green Party is predicted to win a seat in County Wicklow… “If the greens are going to advance in this election, they have to win a seat here with Deirdre de Burca. Problems with the other parties and the retirement of Mildred Fox mean they ... Continue reading »

2007: A Year In Preview

Seen on Arse End Of Ireland

January: Inspired by Roisin Ingle’s prediction that bloggers will be the celebrities of 2007, Andrea Roche gets herself her own domain: ImjustapoorweehickfromClonmel.ie. Comments are disabled, and an early Getting To Know You piece ends in tears. Mary Harney steps down as Minister For Health. February: Disgusted at being labeled “residents for ... Continue reading »

Irish Language Bounces Back

Seen on John P. Ruddy , Achill News, Achill Events, Achill Island Mayo

Irish Language Bounces Back Good news for Achill and its Gaeltacht with next year promising to be a bumper year in terms of attendance on courses based within Gaeltacht areas. Irish language courses are more popular than ever with a record number of people attending the Gaeltacht this year. Over 25,000 people studied in the Gaeltacht in 2006, ... Continue reading »

Saddamned

Seen on www.bishopdavid.net

Saddamned There are so many reasons why the hurried execution of Saddam Hussein is wrong that it’s hard to know where to begin.  I am opposed to capital punishment – and this kind of flawed process confirms me in that opposition.  It won’t bring closure – just add more fuel to the flames.  It denies justice to the numberless families for the ... Continue reading »

Execution of Saddam Hussein wrong

Seen on A view from the Left - Cllr Seamus Ryan's Blog

I can’t help but agree with my Labour Party colleague Michael D Higgins who states today that the execution of Saddam Hussein will do nothing to bring peace to Iraq. He states quite clearly that the Labour Party is opposed to the death penalty and this is a principle that I fundamentally agree with. Without a doubt Saddam Hussein committed ... Continue reading »

Northern Ireland – Peace In Our Time – Democracy At The Crossroads

Seen on Ireland - The Voice Of The Nation

The population of Northern Ireland is within grasp of the first real inclusive Power Sharing democratically elected Government. After the Irish Provisional Republican movement’s political party, Sinn Fein, attempted to copper-fasten the peace process by falling into line behind every other political party in the North. Its, Ard Comhairle (national ... Continue reading »

This should be fun

Seen on The Limerick Blogger

There is no love lost between Sinn Fein and their Republican Sinn Fein counterparts. But things should prove interesting for both organisations as they come within a hairs breath of running into each other on January 7th in Limerick City. Yes, Marching season is upon us again, and now that it is the 50th Anniversary of the death of Sean South ... Continue reading »

The Minister for Dialup and Satellite: Noel Dempsey – Irish Telecoms Review 2006 Part 5

Seen on Damien Mulley

Noel Dempsey is very much like an email auto-reply message you get after emailing someone that’s on holiday. This is Noel’s boilerplate in answer to most Dáil questions on broadband and telecoms: The provision of telecommunications services, including broadband, is a matter in the first instance for the private sector companies operating in a ... Continue reading »

Call for legal recognition of same sex unions

Seen on Dublin South-West Blog

LEGAL RECOGNITION OF SAME SEX UNIONS MUST BE PRIORITY FOR 2007 – LABOUR PARTY STATEMENT The Leader of the Labour Party, Pat Rabbitte TD, has said that the issue of legal recognition of and proper protection for couples in same sex relationships must be a priority for the Oireachtas in 2007. “I am confident that the our society has matured and ... Continue reading »

Fluffy Links – December 29th 2006

Seen on Damien Mulley

Crossed wires. Pranking two Garda stations. Irish Bebo Award – I’ll be launching a small competition for Bebo users soon. Could they have picked a photo that makes the Pope look more evil? I think not. Those defending a traditional wholesome Christmas are also the ones exploiting it for financial gain. I’m quite impressed with how they made a ... Continue reading »

FT on Haughey and Moriarty

Seen on Public Inquiry

Quentin Peel, with his reaction to Moriarty: Ireland needs to do more to tackle legacy of Haughey’s graft Six months after Charles Haughey, the former Irish taoiseach (prime minister), was awarded the honour of a state funeral in Dublin, a 600-page judicial report has confirmed what most people suspected all along: that he was guilty of ... Continue reading »

Tis a shame people don’t seem to care anymore!

Seen on A Wise GreenMum

What is Tara you may ask?… assuming you don’t live in Ireland that is! .. Well I could write a book on the subject however many already have so I wont .. Suffice to say Tara is, imo, arguably the most important national monument or complex of monuments in Ireland, that is under threat from the current Irish Govt! Surely there are laws to ... Continue reading »

Christianity – Govt to avoid changing family definition in referendum

Seen on Meducat

Christianity – Govt to avoid changing family definition in referendum December 26th, 2006 Irish Times – Meanwhile Minister for Children Brian Lenihan has confirmed to The Irish Times that he will meet Catholic Church representatives in mid-January to discuss a referendum wording. He said he had already completed preliminary consultations ... Continue reading »

The Hijacking of the Republican Movement

Seen on Free Derry - MySpace Blog

The Hijacking of the Republican Movement Source: Mac Coisdealbaig In the long history of betrayals within the Irish Republican Movement none have been as insidious and caused more damage to Irelands’ quest for reunification and freedom that the hijacking and destruction of the republican movement by Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, the ... Continue reading »

Why hot air is so expensive.

Seen on Weblog of a Senior Citizen

There was an interesting article in the Sunday Times over the weekend [on Sunday, actually]. It listed the total amount of time our illustrious TDs spent speaking in the Dáil over the last four years. Top of the list is Bertie, at 142 hours and 48 minutes, while bottom of the list is Noel Davern at 1 [...] ... Continue reading »

1972 was not a good year for democracy

Seen on Eurealist

1972 was not a good year for democracy From Ireland comes a legal challenge to EU law; The problem arises over the way in which European Community law is enacted in Ireland. EU law is superior to Irish law so when a Directive is handed down from Europe it has to be transposed into Irish law. This is usually done by Statute but also by ... Continue reading »

Acceptance of large gifts

Seen on Public Inquiry

Our duty is to guard our country and our democratic system from any taint or suspicion of corruption, and to remove any obvious or possible source of danger. While in the terms of the Tribunal’s Report ‘no political impropriety’ has been shown to have occurred, the acceptance of large gifts or payments or personal benefits in a surreptitious ... Continue reading »

Accepting the Statelet, part II

Seen on Dungannistan

The Irish Independent reports: “Another group of senior IRA figures, including one who controls one of its most lucrative rackets, have left the organisation in the North over recognition of the PSNI. The Tyrone-based senior IRA man runs a tax-exemption certificate racket responsible for raising huge amounts of money for the IRA going back to ... Continue reading »

Election-itis at fever heat in Ireland

Seen on Semper Idem

Election-itis at fever heat in Ireland Filed under: Young Fine Gael, Fine Gael, Irish Politics, General Election, Politics Courtesy, I think, of one of the good people of UCC YFG. ... Continue reading »

The good people of UCC YFG

Seen on Semper Idem

The good people of UCC YFG Filed under: Young Fine Gael Comments (0) December 22, 2006 ... Continue reading »

I continue to lose faith in my government.

Seen on I have a cunning plan

The front page of the Sunday Times today, the 10th of December. The headline: “Cabinet set to reject lower age of consent.” It would seem many of our ministers are opposed to lowering the age of consent from 17 to… 16. Sixteen. We’re talking one year here. Never mind that most Irish teenagers think the age of consent is 16, anyway. Everyone ... Continue reading »

Parasite of humanity

Seen on Public Inquiry

Of course, the comments made by Gerry Gainford and Gordon Davies are correct regarding my last blog on the publication of the Moriarty report. Technically, Haughey is not a criminal and it is a fact that he escaped ‘legal’ justice during his lifetime. If I can be personal for a moment I will explain where I’m coming from. Since 1979, I have ... Continue reading »

The Green Ribbon Review of the Year 2006

Seen on The Green Ribbon

Following on from last year’s precedent, here’s a look back at the last twelve months as chronicled on the Green Ribbon. ... Continue reading »

2006: A Liemrick Blogger Review Part III

Seen on The Limerick Blogger

Better late than never, This was due to be published on Wednesday, but due to circumstances beyond my control, this post has been delayed and is being posted today. The closing months of 2006 showed both extremes of the human race, from the most evil acts one man can carry out against another, to the level of generosity anc charity shown by the ... Continue reading »