What have the Greens ever done for us?

vaalea · 25-02-2011 2:20am

There are pros and cons to living rurally, and pros and cons to living city centre. you rural people can thank god that city people population are not sprawled all over the countryside. we went on foot from sandyford over to the gallops and it was a pedestrian nightmare, we probably walked twice as far as the actual distance... it's the suburban sprawl that is the complaint here.
I grew up rural, and turned to the city for it's efficiencies. unless you isolate yourself completely, you really pay-especially with transit, for your peace and quiet, clean air, beautiful view of nature etc etc. A well planned and built city makes green spaces more accessible for city dwellers without having to travel through miles of sprawl first, and electric vehicles would offer more financial freedom for rural residents. The worst of both worlds is a greenless poorly designed city, and petrol reliant vehicles with ever rising prices.

WallyGUFC · 25-02-2011 2:43am

Can't wait to see them and FF suffer tomorrow!

Koyasan · 25-02-2011 1:19pm

Throughout Ireland’s history FF have caused many of the problems we have faced. Since 1977 especially, they have been responsible for deeply populist policy approaches, leaving subsequent governments to pick up the pieces. This time round we kept them in place to try tidy up their own mess instead of letting the opposition parties tidy it up for them as usual. This they have actually endeavoured to do, making the tough decisions to get Ireland’s public finances stable again, and have subsequently plummeted into the electoral abyss. If we’d pulled out in week one, they’d be getting off scot-free right now, and that just wouldn’t be right now, would it? As FF themselves acknowledge, the Greens have decimated FF (http://tinyurl.com/6gzuqog), and for that we should be given some credit.

kippy · 25-02-2011 1:23pm

Jebus,
I was actually gonna vote for a green candidate here *a bit down the list*
However that has changed based on that video, which reminded me how little they have done and how much credit they take for things they themselves have not been fully responsible for.

I had high hope for an FF Green (and the greens in government last time out) but was badly disappointed. I would have given them a bit of a preference this time.

Koyasan · 25-02-2011 1:34pm

The Greens need to get 2% of No. 1s nationally or else they will not be able to keep their office open. They will not be able to offer the expertise that they have on energy, planning, environmental, local government and revenue neutral taxation (see carbon levy and warmer homes scheme for one example). They will not be able to call out corrupt local FG and FF councillors in South Dublin for what they are trying to do at Ticknock.

My local Green doesn't have a chance so this is how I'm voting: No.1 to the Greens so they get 2% of No.1s nationally and are able to keep an office open. No. 2 (which will definitely transfer) to someone with a chance. Two birds, one STV

. If you also have a Green no-hoper in your constituency, consider giving them your No.1 and your No.2 to your real first preference so the Greens can continue to campaign.

Koyasan · 25-02-2011 1:36pm

kippy wrote: »

I was actually gonna vote for a green candidate here *a bit down the list*

In this election, *a bit down the list* is not voting for the Greens.

outandabout · 25-02-2011 1:39pm

They've some good candidates but they should have pulled out of Government a long time ago.

I expect some of them will be absorbed into the Labour Party after the election.

shefra · 25-02-2011 1:44pm

Frogs. Did'nt the GREENS spend something like €300,000 on a survey counting 'FROGS' in ireland?

Koyasan · 25-02-2011 1:55pm

outandabout wrote: »

They've some good candidates but they should have pulled out of Government a long time ago.

I expect some of them will be absorbed into the Labour Party after the election.

FF might have a better chance then

(See above)
Labour are too close to the Unions, less socially liberal, and are still stuck on the Left/Right 19th century political axis. They have been plagiarising Green policies, so they do have hope.

Koyasan · 25-02-2011 2:04pm

shefra wrote: »

Frogs. Did'nt the GREENS spend something like €300,000 on a survey counting 'FROGS' in ireland?

First I've ever heard of it. Very curious about it now though, do you have a link? Was it one of those EU funded studies under the "Habitats Directive"? If so it would have gone ahead regardless of who was in.

johno2 · 25-02-2011 2:15pm

shefra wrote: »

Frogs. Did'nt the GREENS spend something like €300,000 on a survey counting 'FROGS' in ireland?

That sounds like employment for several science graduates. You're not anti-science or anti-graduates are you? It's not like they actually gave the money to frogs so they could head down to the slug shop and spend it on themselves. Amphibians are good indicators of water quality btw. What's wrong with knowing where the water might be polluted?

Maybe you would prefer they spent it on salaries for fat FAS f**ks to sit around not training anyone all day, or maybe some junkets so that union leaders can take a tour of NASA.

johno

bladespin · 26-02-2011 12:03am

Koyasan wrote: »

The Greens need to get 2% of No. 1s nationally or else they will not be able to keep their office open. They will not be able to offer the expertise that they have on energy, planning, environmental, local government and revenue neutral taxation (see carbon levy and warmer homes scheme for one example). They will not be able to call out corrupt local FG and FF councillors in South Dublin for what they are trying to do at Ticknock.

My local Green doesn't have a chance so this is how I'm voting: No.1 to the Greens so they get 2% of No.1s nationally and are able to keep an office open. No. 2 (which will definitely transfer) to someone with a chance. Two birds, one STV . If you also have a Green no-hoper in your constituency, consider giving them your No.1 and your No.2 to your real first preference so the Greens can continue to campaign.

Considering their history, they're better off gone. The only expertise they've displayed over their time in power is how to turn a blind eye to FF's shortcomings (Mr. O'Dea) and stick their heads in the sand.

dark crystal · 26-02-2011 12:13am

Does anyone know if the carbon tax has put any sort of dent in the amount of carbon emissions Ireland produces?

Has petrol or oil consumption come down at all as a direct result of this tax?

timewilltell · 26-02-2011 1:38am

A Green Candidate called to my door Wednesday and told me, with a straight face, that the climate change crisis was a more pressing issue than our economic state.....

I'm 19 not 9!

Jesus wept!

vaalea · 26-02-2011 2:17am

shefra wrote: »

Frogs. Did'nt the GREENS spend something like €300,000 on a survey counting 'FROGS' in ireland?

no idea, but frogs are our "canary in the coal mine" and it is vital we pay notice to them.

mikom · 26-02-2011 2:24am

vaalea wrote: »

no idea, but frogs are our "canary in the gold mine" and it is vital we pay notice to them.

It's coal mine.

vaalea · 26-02-2011 3:06am

mikom wrote: »

It's coal mine.

i know.. fixed it before i saw your post... after i snickered at my mistake.. i was/am falling asleep at my laptop.

johnmcdnl · 26-02-2011 5:59am

My mother has to drive 12 miles to work everyday and 12 miles home everyday..

adding taxes and more taxes to the price of petrol didn't help her conserve fuel - she still has to drive 25 miles a day except it's now more expensive to buy fuel...

There is no alternative way for her to get to work so she just has to take the price increases and there's nothing that we can really do - a party with 5% of the vote last time round are holding the entire country ransom now.. it's disgraceful and really undemocratic - I'm sure if everyone knew that the Greens would join with FF well a good few wouldn't have voted FF....

perhaps electric cars someday will be an option but until you can charge them up in the time it takes to fill a car with petrol there not an option in my eyes from the simple point of convenience - what happens if you have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night and then your car runs out of battery half way there because you only left the car charging for 4 hours at that point...

diesel is being taxed as well isn't it so that's no good..

where do you go to get biofuel for a car??? on top of the effort/cost of converting your car to take biofuel...

Green policies are great when you live in Dublin city center where you can get a bus to everywhere, walk to the shops, etc etc....

but for the other 3 million people in Ireland who live outside Dublin city centre well cars are necessary to be able to go anywhere - but the greens still see it fit to tax the ****e out of these people

democracy spoke and said that only 5% of people wanted these to run the country but the problems in our system because never stood out as much from what I've seen in my life when the Greens entered coalition with FF - disgraceful in a "democracy" if you ask me...
the people didn't ever want them but they got in - so much for the people deciding who gets to govern the country......

yes some of what the greens have done has been decent but every party at their heart would do a bit of good if given the chance - what I despise is that the Greens went into power completely against the democratic voice of the people - that I won't forget and for that alone I hope they get eradicated from Dáil Eireann

chalkitdown · 26-02-2011 6:13am

The Greens gave us a sorry excuse for broadband and gave away 80 million in the process.
I suppose they did prove that naivety is no barrier to office in Irish politics.

What have the Greens ever done for us?

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