How right is Martin?

Venivici

Is Martin Cullen to the right of George Bush?

I think he is. He expouses public/private partnerships, supports plans to give hospital lands to private developers for free!, and thinks the minimum wage is anti-competive. His philosophy is ' a healthy economy is a healthy country'.
Mine is 'a healthy and happy people is a healthy country'.
While it's good that Waterford has a minster at the cabinet table wh can surely do better. He makes Mc Dowell look wet.

deisemum

I think he is so smug and not at all surprised that he is seen as the most incompetent minister. Just look at his track record. That was some fairytale he launched last week.

Our man in Havana

Time for the Waterford voters to send him on his way to the dole office in Ballybricken.

merlante

The only thing Cullen has a record of is being targetted by the media, because he seems to have alienated any friends or supporters he had on the way to the top. He's no worse than any of the rest of them, and he works a lot harder than most.

Of course he's to the right. He was once a PD, remember? Only left the PDs because he couldn't get elected with them, and the local Fianna Failers were so weak that he ended up running the party locally.

I admire the guy's brass neck to be honest. Usually Waterford people **** themselves at the sight of a cabinet minister, let alone become one. Anyone who thinks they can do a better job should make their case, and I'll vote for them.

meldrew

If you get rid of Martin Cullen in the next election you can say goodbye to any more progress down here .
Whether you agree or disagree with his policies its the nature of Irish politics that whoever happens to be at the cabinet table looks after their own constituency first , you only have to look at the Minister for Cork Michael Martin as far as he is concerned anything that Waterford gets is a threat to the supremacy of Cork in the region .
Its about time Waterford people woke up to the fact that regardless of party politics they have to look at the candidate who is most likely to make it to the cabinet table and therefore do the most for Waterford.

Bards

I have to agree with Meldrew... the only way to make this Govt aware that we are not happy with the amount of progress being made on the Waterford agenda is by returning Martin Cullen with a resounding vote and make sure no other FF or PD gets elected.

We will not put up with Ministers coming down here and telling us what we can't have aka Hannafin

It will also send a sublime message to Bertie.. ditch Martin Cullen at your peril

Freddie59

Bond-007 wrote:

Time for the Waterford voters to send him on his way to the dole office in Ballybricken.

The Dole office is on the Cork Road.:D

Venivici

I see that opinion is divided, and very legitimately. Waterford has a particularly poor record at aquiring ministerships. I think it's a bit of a moral dilema;
Head over heart or Heart over head....mmm I still say sack him. FF is in serious trouble here with only one (maybe two) city council members. It bodes ill for them as councilors are the normal breeding stock for potential TDs.
Lets have an election, vote in the poll

Venivici

The dole office is the garda station. Two great institutions.....

merlante

Venivici wrote:

I see that opinion is divided, and very legitimately. Waterford has a particularly poor record at aquiring ministerships. I think it's a bit of a moral dilema;
Head over heart or Heart over head....mmm I still say sack him. FF is in serious trouble here with only one (maybe two) city council members. It bodes ill for them as councilors are the normal breeding stock for potential TDs.
Lets have an election, vote in the poll

You don't realise how close Waterford has come to a complete capitulation as a major city in Ireland.

We almost didn't get a Motorway, or a Radiotherapy unit, and we still don't have a commitment for a University. If we play our cards wrong now, we'll be Kilkenny "City" in 20 years time. A damn ****ty way for an ancient maritime and industrial city like Waterford to end.

Venivici

Cull 'em.
Get it?




Yeah you got there in the end...

Our man in Havana

Freddie59 wrote:

The Dole office is on the Cork Road.:D

Sorry my bad! The last time I needed the dole office it was still in Ballybricken beside the Garda station.

Dilbert75

As they say, all politics is local. As a resident of a neighbouring constituency, I have nothing to benefit from Cullen being in Ministerial office. As such, I feel I can make a slightly more independent comment than someone who might actually get some good out of him.

In my opinion, a TD should be local but a Minister should be national. The Minister, even more than the TD, should give an air of dependability and impartiality that will inspire the likes of myself who does not live in his constituency to trust him. Unfortunately Minister Cullen would not inspire me to trust him as far as I could throw him. He never answers a straight question, never looks anyone in the eye and never ever gives off the impression that he's not lying. He may actually be telling the truth on occasion but I'd never personally believe him.

Its a sad reflection on the man that his own constituents' only reason for re-electing him is that he's better than nothing.

Freddie59

Bond-007 wrote:

Sorry my bad! The last time I needed the dole office it was still in Ballybricken beside the Garda station.

Well looks like I am partly wrong as well! Forgot that the Garda Station (and the Post Office) also double up!:eek:

jmcc

merlante wrote:

The only thing Cullen has a record of is being targetted by the media, because he seems to have alienated any friends or supporters he had on the way to the top. He's no worse than any of the rest of them, and he works a lot harder than most.

Yeah the usual Dublin meeja morons. They don't like the fact that someone from outside their little cesspool can be sharper than them.

Of course he's to the right. He was once a PD, remember? Only left the PDs because he couldn't get elected with them, and the local Fianna Failers were so weak that he ended up running the party locally.

He was the only PD elected as a TD for Waterford as far as I remember. He left after the PDs became a glorified Dublin residents committee in Marey Harney's kitchen. And I think that the mediocrities in the PD's Dublin Junta never forgave him for dumping them. Personally, I think he is a credit to Old Waterpark in the way he shafted the PDs in Waterford.

Regards...jmcc

merlante

Dilbert75 wrote:

As they say, all politics is local. As a resident of a neighbouring constituency, I have nothing to benefit from Cullen being in Ministerial office. As such, I feel I can make a slightly more independent comment than someone who might actually get some good out of him.

In my opinion, a TD should be local but a Minister should be national. The Minister, even more than the TD, should give an air of dependability and impartiality that will inspire the likes of myself who does not live in his constituency to trust him. Unfortunately Minister Cullen would not inspire me to trust him as far as I could throw him. He never answers a straight question, never looks anyone in the eye and never ever gives off the impression that he's not lying. He may actually be telling the truth on occasion but I'd never personally believe him.

Its a sad reflection on the man that his own constituents' only reason for re-electing him is that he's better than nothing.

I agree with some of these points except that:
a) Cullen will see that the south east is not left behind, not just Waterford. Especially since major infrastructure, like a University, is regional, not local, infrastruture.
b) I agree that ministers should be national. The problem is they're not. For almost the entire 20th century Waterford city did not have a senior minister, and it declined while other constituencies with ministers benefitted. It would seem that unless a constituency as at least a time share of a minister, then it is ****ed. That is the unfortunate and despicable reality.

Also, when it comes to spending a disproportionately high amount of cash in one's own constituency, Cullen is not that bad at all. Other ministers have bankrolled their constituencies to a far larger degree.