Ireland Election 2020

[flypanam]

The Guardian is back with it's green tinted glasses with this latest effort at boosterism The Guardian view on Irish politics: an enviable beauty is born | Editorial

is Viner looking for a passport? No family connection? No worries. No money? No worries. Got a platform to write odious bollix that ignores homelessness, low pay, underplays the covid-19 deaths, and shit redundancies for Debenhems workers? Great. Passport is in the post.

 

[Idris2002]

The Guardian is back with it's green tinted glasses with this latest effort at boosterism The Guardian view on Irish politics: an enviable beauty is born | Editorial

is Viner looking for a passport? No family connection? No worries. No money? No worries. Got a platform to write odious bollix that ignores homelessness, low pay, underplays the covid-19 deaths, and shit redundancies for Debenhems workers? Great. Passport is in the post.

It's an improvement on their coverage of (I think) the 1997 election, which was pure paddywhackery and stage Irishry of a kind that should have gone out with Punch magazine.

 

[flypanam]

The guardian would love the idea of social welfare inspectors at The airport in Dublin checking for welfare fraud.

 

[flypanam]

Heather Humphreys: 'If you're permanently unemployed, then you should be looking for work'

The decision to cut welfare payments after recipients’ holidays abroad has been criticised by TDs as unfair, misguided and discriminatory.

www.thejournal.ie

 

[flypanam]

The government is looking shaky, lurching from one crisis to another After ‘golfgate’ the Irish people’s anger at their politicians is palpable | Una Mullally and all the while covid is making a resurgence due to opening up and the far right are making themselves known on the streets with their anti lockdown protests.

 

[redsquirrel]

The government is looking shaky, lurching from one crisis to another After ‘golfgate’ the Irish people’s anger at their politicians is palpable | Una Mullally and all the while covid is making a resurgence due to opening up and the far right are making themselves known on the streets with their anti lockdown protests.

How are SF doing? Making any hay from the government's woes?

 

[flypanam]

I think they are, although mainly from doing as little as possible. Although they have been demanding a recall of the Dail.

 

[redsquirrel]

I think they are, although mainly from doing as little as possible. Although they have been demanding a recall of the Dail.

Cheers FPA

 

[flypanam]

Hogan’s resigning from his EU job Hogan resigns from EU role following golf controversy

 

[flypanam]

One a day when there has been 350+ new cases of C19, the dail is suspended and the cabinet is self isolating because the Health minister Donnelly is sick. They got test immediately. Yet if you work in the meat factories or a school you just get on with it. Also there was a huge taxi driver demo looking for state support.

Cabinet and Acting CMO restricting their movements after Stephen Donnelly is sent for Covid-19 test, Dáil to resume this evening

It was confirmed earlier that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly felt unwell this afternoon and is now isolating.

www.thejournal.ie

'Killing an industry that's already dead': Taxi drivers stage protest in Dublin city

Drivers have called on the government to introduce a range of measures to support the industry as they deal with the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

www.thejournal.ie

 

[Streathamite]

Sinn Fein is still to the left of Corbyn-Labour, right?

absolutely no way. slightly to the left of Miliband Labour, and possibly to the left of Starmer-Labour.
I say 'possibly', because no one knows for sure what Starmer-labour will ultimately be about yet.
We just have horrible impressions and suspicions

 

[flypanam]

So the first poll since June sees an Increase in support for FF up 3 to 17%, FG holding steady in the mid 30% but the Greens have taken a big fall down 8 to 4%. While the shinners are doing well on 29%. One thing that is interesting is that 23% of the population wants radical change, admittedly down but still very respectable.

Irish Times poll: Approval ratings for Government and main party leaders fall

Support for FF at 17%, FG at 35%, SF on 29%, GP 4%, Labour 4% and others on 11%

www.irishtimes.com

With figures like that I still think we'll be seeing an election in 2021, because I've no doubt FG will be looking to pull out of the coalition and blaming the Greens and FF for make the coalition untenable.

Of course this poll wasn't does include the effect of the government ignoring the advice of NPHET in calling for a level 5 lockdown which had the support of the majority of people. The government instead listened to IBEC, Ryanair, hoteliers etc in calling for a level 3 lockdown.

Increasingly worried, supportive of restrictions: What opinion poll findings tell us about Ireland's perception of the pandemic

The latest public opinion survey shows that more people are worried about Covid-19.

www.thejournal.ie

 

[Dom Traynor]

absolutely no way. slightly to the left of Miliband Labour, and possibly to the left of Starmer-Labour.
I say 'possibly', because no one knows for sure what Starmer-labour will ultimately be about yet.
We just have horrible impressions and suspicions

I don't think you can compare the Shinners and British Labour that easily really. That's not to criticise or boost either party

 

[Idris2002]

We might be going back to the 2-and-a-half party system, with FF in the place of Labour, propping up FG or SF as the case may be. Or maybe not.

My mum thinks Leo's a "pup", but she is deeply suspicious of SF. "They have a hidden agenda".

What's their hidden agenda, mum? "They want a united Ireland".

I don't think that's a very hidden agenda, on their part. . .

Talking to her some more, the impression I get is that in her case (and I suspect this is shared by thousands of other Free Staters) the problem with SF is that it is an alien import from the Northern Contamination Zone, threatening to bring some vague and unspecified evil down south.

Arja Kajermo already parodied these fears of infilitration some years ago:



This is from back when the war in the north was still hot. The memory of that still persists.

 

[Idris2002]

OK, fellow potato munchers. What do we think of the proposed "death with dignity" bill?

Dying with Dignity bill moves to next stage after being passed in Dáil

The bill, proposed by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, was given a free vote by the government and passed by 81 votes to 71.

www.irishexaminer.com

Personally, I'm not persuaded that it's an adequate substitute for actually funding palliative and hospice care for the dying. And I'm not satisfied, either, that the problem of ensuring proper safeguards for vulnerable people will be properly dealt with. . . "granny is taking too long to die, and we want to put her house on the market".

 

[spitfire]

OK, fellow potato munchers. What do we think of the proposed "death with dignity" bill?

Dying with Dignity bill moves to next stage after being passed in Dáil

The bill, proposed by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, was given a free vote by the government and passed by 81 votes to 71.

www.irishexaminer.com

Personally, I'm not persuaded that it's an adequate substitute for actually funding palliative and hospice care for the dying. And I'm not satisfied, either, that the problem of ensuring proper safeguards for vulnerable people will be properly dealt with. . . "granny is taking too long to die, and we want to put her house on the market".

Hmm, I'll have to ask my Dad about this as it's the first I've heard of it. (I'm not very good at keeping up with news from home. )

He'll probably make some dark joke about saving on several airfares to Switzerland but i'm sure he'll have a view as this is something both of my parents are fully intent on should the necessity arise.

 

[Idris2002]

Hmm, I'll have to ask my Dad about this as it's the first I've heard of it. (I'm not very good at keeping up with news from home. )

He'll probably make some dark joke about saving on several airfares to Switzerland but i'm sure he'll have a view as this is something both of my parents are fully intent on should the necessity arise.

Yeah, everyone says that, that they would just reach for the off switch if the diagnosis was really bad. But all the people in my family who got the bad diagnosis, they all fought to the end, and tried to make the most of the time that was left to them.

 

[spitfire]

Yeah, everyone says that, that they would just reach for the off switch if the diagnosis was really bad. But all the people in my family who got the bad diagnosis, they all fought to the end, and tried to make the most of the time that was left to them.

It's all planned, Living Wills etc. they're not messing about. Mainly influenced by watching my Grandad's death from dementia (he was a footballer in the '30s, believed link with heading the ball) and my aunt's death from liver cancer. Also my mum does not want to do chemo again, no matter what.

 

[krtek a houby]

It's a "good" idea. But. Don't see the remaining parent going for it - he's fighting his illness all the way. At least there's going to be a choice.

 

[flypanam]

I see Leo is having to suffer a vote of confidence tonight after stories in the Village magazine that he’s been giving a mate confidential documents relating to the Irish medical organisation pay agreement. The mate just happens to lead a rival organisation and has previously stated that he wanted to destroy the IMO. All for his own benefit. Leo has been telling a few porkies about his mate/not mate. Dáil meets in Leinster House but moves across the Liffey for confidence vote in Tánaiste Leo Varadkar

He’ll probably survive but not a good month for the establishment with sealing documents regarding the mother and baby homes which helps protect the long line of family TDs and the catholic hierarchy and it’s cash.

Lastly in the ongoing Golfgate scandal Seamie Woulfe has been told to resign by Frank Clarke the Chief Justice because of the damage he has caused to the reputation of the Supreme Court.

lots of wobbles...I’d say Martin is praying that Xmas isn’t cancelled.

 

[redsquirrel]

How much credit has a government emerged with for its handling of COVID?
From my brief look at the figures it seems that while the situation in Ireland is no Norway, NZ or even Germany it is better than other Western European countries. Not that I'm putting such down to the government personally, just wondering what how public saw the situation.

 

[flypanam]

Not being there its hard to guage. I think the coalition response while it has public support was tardy, coming two weeks after the gov had ignored NPHET advice for a lockdown. The roll back on public support has not endeared the gov to people who had been receiving 350 pandemic unemployment payment and then linking it to prior earnings so people could get as little as 205. The initail state take over of the private hospitals was greeted with much fanfare until it came obvious that the state were filling coffers of the already wealthy. Add the lingering stench of golfgate and I suspect that most people are probably looking back at the minority FG gov with some fondness although the Leo scandal and the slowness of Phil Hogan resigning have showed them up for what they are.

Ultimately people are showing a high degree of compliance with the lockdown and in some areas social solidarity has increased, my best mate visits my ma, da and brother every week to see if the need anything, while the local churches have set up a buddy system for those living alone so they have regular contact with someone. All stuff the left could be doing but doesn't/can't.

 

[Jay Park]

Smoke Breaks & Handbrakes: Episode 7 (City Of Dutch Gold)

Smoke Breaks & Handbrakes Episode 7 Casual Work special, where I go through the songs that inspired the lyrics and stories on Mango X MathMan’s Casual Work on it’s one year anniversary

soundcloud.app.goo.gl

 

[Jay Park]

Smoke Breaks & Handbrakes: Episode 7 (City Of Dutch Gold)

Smoke Breaks & Handbrakes Episode 7 Casual Work special, where I go through the songs that inspired the lyrics and stories on Mango X MathMan’s Casual Work on it’s one year anniversary

soundcloud.app.goo.gl

that poetry after the first song, amazing

 

[flypanam]

that poetry after the first song, amazing

yeah that's class

 

[Jay Park]

yeah that's class

you heard before or just listened?

Dublin accent that is it? A thick one at that.

 

[flypanam]

Just heard it, I think it's Emmett Kirwan performing it. Yup that's a Dublin brogue. Even mention's Zaytoon's a kebab spot. Loved that. Thanks.

 

[redsquirrel]

...

Ta FPA