John Deasy TD in the news...

Trotter

From RTE.ie http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0103/finegael.html

FG deputy warns Kenny to win next election

03 January 2007 23:10

The Waterford Fine Gael deputy John Deasy has said it would a total failure for his party if it was not returned to power at the next General Election.

Deputy Deasy also said a challenge to the party leader Enda Kenny in such circumstances would be reasonable and was something he would consider himself.

Deputy Deasy said Fine Gael was fully behind its leader for the election.


Oh John, thou art up for a row aren't ya. It was never a secret that the leadership of FG didnt see eye to eye with our FG TD John Deasy but this certainly means that if FG do get into government, they'll be sure to tighten the purse strings in this constituency anyway. There'll be few that will be prepared to help him fight his corner.

Does this set Deasy out as a lone ranger in FG? If so, aren't his hands tied?, making him well.. not so useful to us that elected him?

How can he represent Waterford if he's rubbing EVERYONE in the Dáil up the wrong way.. and not even by screaming for the things Waterford needs! The only time I've heard him in the news was for A) Smoking in the Dáil bar :rolleyes: and Telling the possible future Taoiseach that he's looking for his job. :mad:


Am I missing something here or are all the noises John Deasy makes based on his own ego? Initially I thought he'd make a good TD. Now Im not so sure.

Sully

Trotter wrote:

How can he represent Waterford if he's rubbing EVERYONE in the Dáil up the wrong way.. and not even by screaming for the things Waterford needs! The only time I've heard him in the news was for A) Smoking in the Dáil bar :rolleyes: and Telling the possible future Taoiseach that he's looking for his job. :mad:

Thats a very good point. To be honest, I think its time he took the independent route. He seems to cause more harm then good!

Trotter

Sully04 wrote:

Thats a very good point. To be honest, I think its time he took the independent route. He seems to cause more harm then good!

We have the independent we need in Mary Roche. Her recent stuff in the papers are a breath of fresh air. With no party whip to keep her quiet, she'd be exactly what this constituency needs. John Deasy on the other hand isnt thinking about the University we desperately need, he's thinking about his leadership challenge.. Give me a bucket.

Bards

How many times have we heard him copmplain that Waterford City is getting all the jobs to the detriment of Dungarvan... Not that we are getting all the jobs compared to Cork, Dublin, Limerick or Galway... why oh why will he not compare Waterford with Cork instead of this East V West Waterford Divide.

In my opinion he is a muppet and should not be eletced next time around

merlante

Naturally comes across very well, speaks his mind, and looks the part. But he's not the full political shilling. He rubs everyone up the wrong way, leaps before looking, underestimates opponents, plays too much to the (very) local gallery, continually makes a fool of himself, has an ego that doesn't match his capabilities, and so on.

He showed a lot of potential, but he has so many flaws he won't realistically make an impact. And in fact aside from pissing off the party leader, getting kicked off the FG front bench, being censured for smoking in the Dail bar, making a fool of himself going up against McDowell, and marrying a good looking TV presenter, he hasn't been heard of.

Avns1s

IMHO John Deasy is the biggest disappointment possible within any political party. All parties need young blood which should be opinionated and strong but in the right way. John doesn't know his place. Nor is his mouth connected to anything of substance. His role right now, should be to work as part of a team, keep his head down, support his colleagues and particularly their leader. This is the kind of tripe that FG doesn't need right now.

If I was from Waterford, I would be worried that because of his persistent ill thought through interventions, he will be persistently sidelined in any government that will have FG involved, never mind Enda Kenny as Taoiseach.

TBH He doesn't deserve to keep his seat if this is the representation he is going to give the people of Waterford. He'd be far better trying to do something for his area rather than nailing his own aspirations to the mast. I for one, would not support FG if he were leader. I suspect i wouldn't be alone in this view.

merlante

He has destroyed all his prospects for a seat in the cabinet for the foreseeable future. And those prospects were quite good too: he did a few years as an aide to a republican senator, which should have sharpened him up no end. When he got elected after coming back to Ireland, rumour had it that McDowell had tried to co-opt him into the PDs. Now look at him.

In an alternative coalition either Liam Twomey, FG spokesman on Health, or Brendan Howlin, Labour spokesman on Justice, would beat him to the cabinet. Then again, nobody else aside from Cullen would have a hope of getting into the cabinet.

mike65

He's kinda right but wrong to use his thoughts to make a splash - it worked though, I'd forgotten he existed.

Mike.

fricatus

He has one quality that I think nobody can deny: he's fearless - although maybe that's because he is also foolish and egotistical.

Why the hell though hasn't he been fearlessly speaking out on behalf of Waterford? I've heard nothing from him on the number one issue of the past 30 years, the lack of a university in the south-east.

Why isn't he badgering the government on this issue and turning the screw on Enda Kenny to get some sort of pre-election commitment on the matter?

Apologies to FG and Deasy if he has been speaking out, but I must say I've seen no evidence of it, and I do follow the Waterford element of national politics quite closely.

I've also taken a look at the FG website and there is little mention of Waterford there. Search for "university" and "Waterford" or "south east" on the site and no results are returned.

Says it all...

merlante

Agreed. He's only interested in his own vote and profile, and justice seems to be his hobby horse to achieve both. Nothing of any substance about the university.

Trotter

merlante wrote:

Agreed. He's only interested in his own vote and profile, and justice seems to be his hobby horse to achieve both. Nothing of any substance about the university.

And yet.. he will be returned! Why? Because his name is Deasy.. and thats enough.

Voters in this constituency drive me MAD. Brian O'Shea will also be returned, although narrowly..mainly because of a few write ups in the local papers prior to the election..

Marty is a cert to retain his seat too because he's a minister.. and that leaves the last one to be given to Ollie Wilkinson becase he builds things all over County Waterford.

UNLESS... We wake up. Otherwise its more years of neglect. For God's sake lets get at least one fresh face in there to make some noise about Waterford!!

merlante

Trotter wrote:

And yet.. he will be returned! Why? Because his name is Deasy.. and thats enough.

Voters in this constituency drive me MAD. Brian O'Shea will also be returned, although narrowly..mainly because of a few write ups in the local papers prior to the election..

Marty is a cert to retain his seat too because he's a minister.. and that leaves the last one to be given to Ollie Wilkinson becase he builds things all over County Waterford.

UNLESS... We wake up. Otherwise its more years of neglect. For God's sake lets get at least one fresh face in there to make some noise about Waterford!!

Basically, it's the east/urban west/rural split that will work against us. In the west people will want to vote for western politicians who are more likely to be from civil war parties, hence Wilkinson and Deasy. In the city stranger things can happen, but it's effectively a 2 seater. Cullen will take one of those. That leaves one. However I think this last seat could go to one of a few places: O'Shea will weaken considerably and Halligan and Cullinane, if they poll well, could push one or the other through on transfers. Hard to call in the current climate.

Other less likely things are Kennealy, if he's running, pipping Wilkinson, since apparently he has support in the county as well. Mary Roche could pull off a coup by appealing to a very broad cross section of people and getting transfers from all directions. Unlikely, but not beyond the realms of possibility. If she got in, she would probably do so at the expense of the O'Shea/Socialist seat while taking a little bit off everyone in the process.

If a certain green party candidate gets in, I will have one more drink in Downses, and then I'll leave the city forever...

road_high

Does nobody think he may have a point though? I mean Kenny is a pretty anonomyous politician- FG could do with somebody with a bit of spark or charisma which Deasy seems to have to offer as a potential future taoiseach.
I don't know much about Deasy what he does/ performs locally as a TD though. Unfortunately for him though if FG got into govt at the next election he may have blown any chance of getting a ministerial post. He seems to live by the motto 'any publicity is good publicity'...

mike65

His dad did the same thing raging against Garret, who rewarded his cheek with the Ag job.

Mike.

Bards

mfitzy wrote:

Does nobody think he may have a point though? I mean Kenny is a pretty anonomyous politician- FG could do with somebody with a bit of spark or charisma which Deasy seems to have to offer as a potential future taoiseach.
I don't know much about Deasy what he does/ performs locally as a TD though. Unfortunately for him though if FG got into govt at the next election he may have blown any chance of getting a ministerial post. He seems to live by the motto 'any publicity is good publicity'...

maybe he's relying on Kenny believing the old saying "Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer":D

deisemum

I have to say this for Deasy, on a local level when other politicians fobbed off an ongoing problem that my family were experiencing with our school and Dept of Ed. Deasy dealt with it like a rottweiller with a bone and took action on the same day.

He got responses within 4 days and we got a result.

God spare us Kenneally.

Our man in Havana

Also God spare us a certain Galway outcast green policitian.

fricatus

merlante wrote:

If a certain green party candidate gets in, I will have one more drink in Downses, and then I'll leave the city forever...

I don't think you need worry about that... he has a very loyal and loud support base, but the numbers just aren't there.

There was a piece in the Tribune last Sunday that said that the general election is basically made up of 43 local ones. It went through an analysis of all 43 and the comments on Waterford said basically "this is going to be a dull one" and "conclusion: 2FF, 1FG, 1Lab".

For that reason, I'd love to see Mary Roche elected. I confess that I know very little about her, but firstly she was on that Tonight programme on RTE radio where they discussed the boundary extension plan and she sounded very good. Secondly, on her website she describes her election, if it were to happen, as delivering "enormous leverage for Waterford".

This is the key thing in how we should be thinking: who will be best for Waterford? Two people come to mind: any Independent (Mary Roche being the strongest), because they could hold the balance of power, and Martin Cullen, because he may or may not be a minister in the next cabinet, but he's certainly the only Waterford horse in that particular race.

Someone the other day said to me "Martin Cullen's a c**t!", and I said "yeah, but he's our c**t".

merlante

deisemum wrote:

I have to say this for Deasy, on a local level when other politicians fobbed off an ongoing problem that my family were experiencing with our school and Dept of Ed. Deasy dealt with it like a rottweiller with a bone and took action on the same day.

He got responses within 4 days and we got a result.

God spare us Kenneally.

Fair enough, that is something.

His podcast interview on DeiseAM is available on the WLR website. Very interesting listening. The stuff he comes out with unbelievable. He is like a politician from another time when people didn't seize on your every word and beat you over the head with it.

He's either a genius or a fool. I'd say fool myself though...

Don't think Waterford is going to be as boring as they say. O'Shea's seat is far from assured I reckon. Mary Roche could inspire people. It is a lot less clear than the last few elections anyway.

Please God let us become a marginal constituency: the only ones that are ever truly catered for.

deisemum

Out of the lot of them I think Mary Roche is the one with the most cop on and is a breath of fresh air.

merlante

deisemum wrote:

Out of the lot of them I think Mary Roche is the one with the most cop on and is a breath of fresh air.

You could be raised by apes in an opium den and still have more cop on and be more a breath of fresh air than most of them...

I'd love to see her get in though. In fact I reckon we need to upset the apple cart of Waterford being this supposedly safe constituency.

mad man

I think Deasy has finally lost the plot to ne honest.I remeber around the time of the last election Royston Brady for FF and John Deasy for FG were being held up as the young dynamic new blood of their parties.Royston Brady in particular was proclaimed to be a lot like Bertie in his younger days.A shrewd political mind behind the "ordinary joe" facade.It reminded me of the movie Carlito's way where it was said Benny Blanco was like Carlito Brigante in his younger days:D

Anyway Royston Brady made a goofball out of himself during the European elections and Deasy inspired much more confidence until the debacle over the smoking ban in the Dáil Bar.I think he resents Enda Kenny over this and instead of working to get back in his favour is looking for revenge.

Kenny has recently stated that if FG win the election then the mimimum requirement for a cabinet seat will be the delivery of two seats for FG.If this is true then Deasy was going nowhere anyway.So I think he has royally ****ed himself.

I don't think it would be any great loss to Waterford City anyway.The recent comments he has made about the IDA are more reminiscent of Phil Hogan.Instead of looking at regional inequality he is talking up false inequalities between the city and county.

I think Cullen is the best bet for Waterford.I also think most people know that.I think if he can repeat what he did in 2002 and FF win the election then he has a good chance of retaining his cabinet seat.Although unfortunately this will depend on Wilkinson being elected as well.I don't think much of Wilkinson as a politician.Unfortunately himself or Keneally will have to be there to make up the numbers.

I would have a lot of time for Mary Roche.She says it how it is.I think it would be good if she took O'Sheas seat.She would be an independent voice and independents might be needed to make up the numbers for FF.The only reason I would like her to take O'Sheas seat is because he won't be in a position to do much for the city.If Labour are in the next coalition then Brendan Howlin will represent the South East and that will mean **** all for Waterford.Likewise if there is a Rainbow then Phil Hogan and Howlin will be the voices of the Soth East.If that is the case then expect nothing...

My preference two FFs and Mary Roche as an Independent.

merlante

mad man wrote:

I think Deasy has finally lost the plot to ne honest.I remeber around the time of the last election Royston Brady for FF and John Deasy for FG were being held up as the young dynamic new blood of their parties.Royston Brady in particular was proclaimed to be a lot like Bertie in his younger days.A shrewd political mind behind the "ordinary joe" facade.It reminded me of the movie Carlito's way where it was said Benny Blanco was like Carlito Brigante in his younger days:D

Anyway Royston Brady made a goofball out of himself during the European elections and Deasy inspired much more confidence until the debacle over the smoking ban in the Dáil Bar.I think he resents Enda Kenny over this and instead of working to get back in his favour is looking for revenge.

Kenny has recently stated that if FG win the election then the mimimum requirement for a cabinet seat will be the delivery of two seats for FG.If this is true then Deasy was going nowhere anyway.So I think he has royally ****ed himself.

I don't think it would be any great loss to Waterford City anyway.The recent comments he has made about the IDA are more reminiscent of Phil Hogan.Instead of looking at regional inequality he is talking up false inequalities between the city and county.

I think Cullen is the best bet for Waterford.I also think most people know that.I think if he can repeat what he did in 2002 and FF win the election then he has a good chance of retaining his cabinet seat.Although unfortunately this will depend on Wilkinson being elected as well.I don't think much of Wilkinson as a politician.Unfortunately himself or Keneally will have to be there to make up the numbers.

I would have a lot of time for Mary Roche.She says it how it is.I think it would be good if she took O'Sheas seat.She would be an independent voice and independents might be needed to make up the numbers for FF.The only reason I would like her to take O'Sheas seat is because he won't be in a position to do much for the city.If Labour are in the next coalition then Brendan Howlin will represent the South East and that will mean **** all for Waterford.Likewise if there is a Rainbow then Phil Hogan and Howlin will be the voices of the Soth East.If that is the case then expect nothing...

My preference two FFs and Mary Roche as an Independent.

Don't forget Dr. Twomey, the recently co-opted FG spokesman for Health in Wexford, he'll also have pipped Deasy at this stage.

I wonder would it really be that bleak if we had two ministers from the south east but none of them were from Waterford? No doubt they'd try to rectify the 'fact' that everything goes to Waterford, despite the incredible levels of investment flowing into other regions at all times...

Junior

Anyone listening to the Sunday Supplement on Today FM, Deasy has just been slated left right and centre !

deisemum

Yep, he's certainly been slated.

Junior

You'd think Paudie Coffey would try and make hay while sunshines ? At least try and align himself with the party rather than slate Deasy ?

mad man

merlante wrote:

Don't forget Dr. Twomey, the recently co-opted FG spokesman for Health in Wexford, he'll also have pipped Deasy at this stage.

I wonder would it really be that bleak if we had two ministers from the south east but none of them were from Waterford? No doubt they'd try to rectify the 'fact' that everything goes to Waterford, despite the incredible levels of investment flowing into other regions at all times...

I think it would be that bleak.It was that bleak last time around.

fricatus

mad man wrote:

I think it would be that bleak.It was that bleak last time around.

And there are people here who say that we should kick Cullen out of office? Gaaahhh... madness! I don't like him either, but look at how badly Waterford would be served by any alternative government!

merlante

fricatus wrote:

And there are people here who say that we should kick Cullen out of office? Gaaahhh... madness! I don't like him either, but look at how badly Waterford would be served by any alternative government!

Whatever we think about him, there would be no airport right now without him, and we will come to rely on that more in the years to come. The motorway definitely would have been shot down. We'd have been down a bypass or a viking site or both. The outer ring road would have been funded by the city council, and would have taken longer to build, and would have been single lane ala the first section linking the Dunmore Rd. Oh yeah, and we'd have a really ugly tax building.

mad man

The thing is people have to realise in Waterford is that you cannot vote for parties like they are a football team.Like it or not our best chances are with Cullen.It doesn't matter who is in Government,It is guaranteed Cork,Dublin and Galway will be well represented.Limerick is in a similar position to Waterford although not as bad.If I am not mistaken Cork Dublin and Galway are the three biggest counties population wise.It is also not a co-incidence that Limerick has a boundary issue similar to Waterford.

What we in Waterford should be aspiring to do is to become an important constituency politically.This may mean persuading those in SKK and Soth West Wexford to throw their lot in politically with Waterford City.A difficult but not impossible task.

Van

What exactly is Mary Roche saying that hasn't been said by others. We have seen the influence of Independents in this Dail - Nil

mad man

Van wrote:

What exactly is Mary Roche saying that hasn't been said by others. We have seen the influence of Independents in this Dail - Nil

Well to say Independents have no influence depends how the numbers add up.You have to remember Jackie Healy Ray and Mildred Fox had FF by the short and Curlys before 2002.Mildered Fox was therefore able to close on a lot of local issues regarding health.

Likewise if I'm not mistaken the reason the country is divided in two i.e BMW and SE region was for the Purpose of Milking the EU for a few more bob.Funding was going to be cut drastically because the Fiscal and Economic situation was turning around.People like Jackie Healy Rae foeced the government to negotiate a compeomise.

So imagine id Waterford Had to FF's and Mary Roche is there an independent and there was a hung Dáil.There would be huge pressure on FF to deliver full radiotherapy and a University.There is a lot of Ifs there but it isn't impossible.

A lot of people are expecting the PD's to Meltdown.I don't think it is going to happen but you never know.This would make FF very dependent on Independents.That is why I thing two Cullen another FF and Roche could potentially be a dream situation.One thing is certain is I do not believe Deasy or O'Shea will be in any position to lobby successfully for Waterford.

Bards

mad man wrote:

Well to say Independents have no influence depends how the numbers add up.You have to remember Jackie Healy Ray and Mildred Fox had FF by the short and Curlys before 2002.Mildered Fox was therefore able to close on a lot of local issues regarding health.

Likewise if I'm not mistaken the reason the country is divided in two i.e BMW and SE region was for the Purpose of Milking the EU for a few more bob.Funding was going to be cut drastically because the Fiscal and Economic situation was turning around.People like Jackie Healy Rae foeced the government to negotiate a compeomise.

So imagine id Waterford Had to FF's and Mary Roche is there an independent and there was a hung Dáil.There would be huge pressure on FF to deliver full radiotherapy and a University.There is a lot of Ifs there but it isn't impossible.

A lot of people are expecting the PD's to Meltdown.I don't think it is going to happen but you never know.This would make FF very dependent on Independents.That is why I thing two Cullen another FF and Roche could potentially be a dream situation.One thing is certain is I do not believe Deasy or O'Shea will be in any position to lobby successfully for Waterford.

If Roche is elected then the apple cart will be upset and we will be a marginal constituency again..... It's been two FF, one FG & One Labour for as long as I can remember

Van

I am one of those who believe that Cullen did not deliver to the same extent that Ministers from other counties did. University, Public Radiotherapy, Motorway to Dublin, major job losses, underperforming economically - need I go on. There is a tendency in Waterford not to be critical of our own Minister. Cullen is rated as being one of the worst Ministers in government by all political commentators. Just because he secures funding for a project or two in Waterford does not change that. Also the days of Independents delivering on major projects is long over. If people think that an Independent from Waterford could deliver issues such as a University or Radiotherapy they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

merlante

Van wrote:

I am one of those who believe that Cullen did not deliver to the same extent that Ministers from other counties did. University, Public Radiotherapy, Motorway to Dublin, major job losses, underperforming economically - need I go on. There is a tendency in Waterford not to be critical of our own Minister. Cullen is rated as being one of the worst Ministers in government by all political commentators. Just because he secures funding for a project or two in Waterford does not change that. Also the days of Independents delivering on major projects is long over. If people think that an Independent from Waterford could deliver issues such as a University or Radiotherapy they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

Van, Cullen's position in FF and in the government is not as strong as some of the other ministers. That should be obvious enough to most people. You have to gauge him on what was possible and what was delivered. He has delivered the motorway, in that they are building it now, as well as the bypass and a centrally funded outer ring road. He was also got funding to save the airport and recently announced that the runway was going to upgraded. There have been a hundred other little things. But prior to Cullen getting in there we had nothing at all. We are coming from a very low base, but Waterford is getting back on the map again.

Public Radiotherapy is something that Michael Martin was 100% against, but I believe Harney has promised it, and I can't see an alternative coalition taking it off the table (but you never know). The university is not something that Cullen ever could deliver alone. Only with the support of the cabinet and with a pile of expert reports could a university ever be delivered. He has at least started the process. As regards jobs, the situation is dire, but it's the companies that won't come here until we get a university. Although he could have done better on this front.

Martin Cullen is not the worst minister in there, forget about the so-called commentators who have their own agendas. There are guys in there so lazy and stupid you don't even know their names. But they are FF men of long standing and service and thus invulnerable to attack so long as they keep their mouths shut.

Bards

Michael Martin is the worst minister... All he ever did when in Health was issue reports.. over 200 to be exact.. cost the tax payer over €1,000 million euro on Eldery care. wasted €120M on PPARS

and what do we hear repeat time after time after time by so called esteemed political commentators.. the e-Voting debalce (€50M)which was started by Noel Dempsey.. but Cullen gets landed with the blame.

we never hear about how bad Michael Martin is..now do we....

merlante

Bards wrote:

Michael Martin is the worst minister... All he ever did when in Health was issue reports.. over 200 to be exact.. cost the tax payer over €1,000 million euro on Eldery care. wasted €120M on PPARS

and what do we hear repeat time after time after time by so called esteemed political commentators.. the e-Voting debalce (€50M)which was started by Noel Dempsey.. but Cullen gets landed with the blame.

we never hear about how bad Michael Martin is..now do we....

Couldn't have put it better myself.

mad man

Van wrote:

I am one of those who believe that Cullen did not deliver to the same extent that Ministers from other counties did..

Unfortunately the electorate in Waterford doesn't get to choose from other Ministers in other counties.We can only pick from within our own constituency.If you can convince me who has a chance of being in a position to deliver for Waterford other than Cullen then I will vote for them

Van wrote:

University, Public Radiotherapy, Motorway to Dublin, major job losses, underperforming economically - need I go on. .

Most of the Major contracts for the Motorway have been signed.The section from Waterford to Knocktopher is due to be signed.If Cullen wasn't there the Motorway would not be even on the agenda.I would say the best we could have hoped for is a 2+1 between Waterford and Knoctopher.There has been huge pressure within the Government,the opposition,the senate, from the Media and academics in the ESRI to scrap the M9 motorway project.

It should also be remembered that under Cullens tenure as Minister for the Environment allocations for non National roads in Waterford City was almost 5 times per capita than that of Dublin City.More again than for Cork and the Funding for Galway was almost insignificant in comparison.That is before you even mention funding for County Waterford.That was the situation for three years.

Van wrote:

There is a tendency in Waterford not to be critical of our own Minister. Cullen is rated as being one of the worst Ministers in government by all political commentators. Just because he secures funding for a project or two in Waterford does not change that..

Why would Waterford be critical of their own minister.It would be akin to biting the hand that feeds you.

You should check out politics.ie.There is a thread there about who is the most hated Member of the Oreachteas.Cullen is mentioned but there is many more cabinet members and TD's mentioned more often.Dick Roche in particular.The fact is Cullen has not been a subject of Contreversy now for two years,There has been a lot of Controversies since then including a Humdinger with Bertie Ahern.Cullen is performing no worse than any other member of the cabinet despite what the media says.Micheal Martin is responsible for much bigger mistakes than Cullen with hardly any Flak.The truth about E voting is that Noel Dempsey had already set this in train in the local elections in Meath.There was huge problems there and he still pushed ahead with it.Cullen was cleared of any wrong doing during the Monica Leech affair.If Cullen was that Bad Bertie ahern could have sacked him two years ago.This is a can only mean that Waterford has become an important constituency or else Cullen is doing a good job.Either way the basic reality of the situation in Waterford is that there is no alternative to Cullen.

Van wrote:

Also the days of Independents delivering on major projects is long over. If people think that an Independent from Waterford could deliver issues such as a University or Radiotherapy they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

You obviously missed the phenomenen of Jackie Healy Ray.This man forced the Government to go back to Brussels and persuade the EU to continue funding for the West.Himself and Mildred Fox practically went to the Government of the day with a shopping list of Demands.There is an extremely high chance of the situation repeating itself in five months time.I'll say again Van if you know of an alternative to the current situation then please tell me because I cannot see it.

Trotter

What do the potential candidates who arent sitting TD's right now need to do over the next months to ensure they unseat a TD though? Is it pure publicity or are the people of Waterford well capable of researching who is worth their vote?

I fear its option 1.. where the person with the biggest poster budget wins.

Bards

Trotter wrote:

What do the potential candidates who arent sitting TD's right now need to do over the next months to ensure they unseat a TD though? Is it pure publicity or are the people of Waterford well capable of researching who is worth their vote?

I fear its option 1.. where the person with the biggest poster budget wins.

It is also a case of the electorate asking "What have the sitting TD's done for the constituency?" if they haven't done much except claim expenses and salary then I say vote them out, and let some new blood in and see what they can do.. If politicians know that unless they actually do something they stand a good chance of being turfed out in five years it might focus the minds...

we need less of the "ah sure.. he's a ballybricken man. " or "My dad always voted for his father, so I better do likewise"

whatever happens as long as we elect Cullen & upset the status quo of two ff, 1 FG & 1 FG then I will deem the election a success for Waterford

mad man

Bards wrote:

It is also a case of the electorate asking "What have the sitting TD's done for the constituency?" if they haven't done much except claim expenses and salary then I say vote them out, and let some new blood in and see what they can do.. If politicians know that unless they actually do something they stand a good chance of being turfed out in five years it might focus the minds...

we need less of the "ah sure.. he's a ballybricken man. " or "My dad always voted for his father, so I better do likewise"

whatever happens as long as we elect Cullen & upset the status quo of two ff, 1 FG & 1 FG then I will deem the election a success for Waterford

The problem is how do you upset the status quo without damaging our chances of electing a politician who can deliver for Waterford.If FF are returned in 2007 Cullen would find it hard to justify a demand for a cabinet post if he has not returned a second FF with him.Cullen pulled more votes than any other FF TD in the country in 2002 including Bertie Ahern.That more than anything else justified his right to a cabinet position.

Bards

It could be read a number of ways by the FF parlimentary party

If we do return only Cullen as the sole FF, Cullen could turn around and say.." they only elected me becasue I hold a cabinet seat, just look at the drubbing Waterford did to FF at the local elections"

If they dropped Cullen from Cabinet then I suspect his chances of getting re-elected in 2012 would be slim due to the fact he would not deliver.

It would also mean Waterford would be open season and all seats would be in play so whoever gets in might be try to win favour by conceeding things which we deserve and need, but otherwise wouldn't get.

On the other hand we could still upset the status quo by returning two FF inc Cullen and dropping one FG or one lab or heaven forbids both FG & Lab.

mad man

Bards wrote:

It could be read a number of ways by the FF parlimentary party

If we do return only Cullen as the sole FF, Cullen could turn around and say.." they only elected me becasue I hold a cabinet seat, just look at the drubbing Waterford did to FF at the local elections"

If they dropped Cullen from Cabinet then I suspect his chances of getting re-elected in 2012 would be slim due to the fact he would not deliver.

It would also mean Waterford would be open season and all seats would be in play so whoever gets in might be try to win favour by conceeding things which we deserve and need, but otherwise wouldn't get.

On the other hand we could still upset the status quo by returning two FF inc Cullen and dropping one FG or one lab or heaven forbids both FG & Lab.

I still think the best way to show that Waterford means business is to elect 2 FF's and Mary Roche as an Independent on a Uni and Radiotherapy ticket.The other options I think are risky and could end up with Waterford being in the political doldrums again for years.

The media seems to be turning against FG and I think this could be their Death Knell.Deasy may have split the FG vote in the West of the county and O'Shea has never really been in position to Deliver.I think if Waterford votes the right way the might be in a position of power greater than 2002 .

merlante

I see your point madman about Cullen being charged with returning two FF seats, and that his success in this could be a crucial factor in his retaining a ministry.

However, that's a 'keep 'em sweet' tactic, and I think 'keep 'em sweet' is a bit too lazy from us. We've simply returned 2 FFers automatically for too long for it to mean much. I think, like the PDs, we are either radical or redundant, we can't simply keep returning 2 FF TDs, even if one of them is a complete waste of space, as both Wilkinson or Kenneally have been. How could Bertie, or any leader, have any respect (respect as in fear) for a constituency that is so mindlessly loyal?

The more radical approach, if we as a people were capable of thinking collectively (which we're not), would be to give Cullen an even larger vote, and to ditch the two other fools. That would set us out as a constituency with a bit of cop on and a bit of spunk. FF are then faced with the possibility of suffering further if Cullen is not offered a ministry. In other words, instead of a keep 'em sweet' strategy, we adopt a more threatening, 'keep him in or we'll kick you out' strategy.

Now, plainly speaking, it looks almost certain that we will elect 2 FFers. Last time out we nearly elected 3 of them! So bearing that it mind, we should at least hope that the Kennealy/Wilkinson vote is severely reduced, and that we change at least one of our TDs. With Deasy's seat looking safe, that means that we have to put O'Shea to the sword. He has fought like a trojan for Waterford over the years, but when it counted, he could not gain any real influence in the last FG/Lab coalition, and is even less likely to do so in a possible FG/Lab coalition this time around. He failed to stop all of the other RTCs being upgraded to university status, which seriously set back Waterford's progression toward university status.

We have to be tough on this one. I wonder will we be?

merlante

Incidentally, here's a very illustrative webcast from WLR with Wilkinson:
Cretinous weasel words on radiotherapy

Van

I think we are kidding ourselves regarding Martin Cullen being a Minister after the next election. Taking for granted that Fianna Fail will be returned (and that may not be the case) he is regarded nationally as being one of the worst Ministers in government. Any analysis on the performance of government ministers show him as a poor performer. The only people that rate him as a good Minister are some people in Waterford.

Bards

Van wrote:

I think we are kidding ourselves regarding Martin Cullen being a Minister after the next election. Taking for granted that Fianna Fail will be returned (and that may not be the case) he is regarded nationally as being one of the worst Ministers in government. Any analysis on the performance of government ministers show him as a poor performer. The only people that rate him as a good Minister are some people in Waterford.

Did you happen to see the FF ard Fheis a few months back.. Bertie Ahern durhing his speech praised Martin Cullen in national TV and said what a great job he was doing, and not to listen to those mdeia comentators.

Now that's what I call an endorsement from your Boss

mad man

Van wrote:

I think we are kidding ourselves regarding Martin Cullen being a Minister after the next election. Taking for granted that Fianna Fail will be returned (and that may not be the case) he is regarded nationally as being one of the worst Ministers in government. Any analysis on the performance of government ministers show him as a poor performer. The only people that rate him as a good Minister are some people in Waterford.

The fact is Van it aint over till the fat lady sings.The reality is there has been no analysis of performance of any minister that is worthwhile.Again I suggest you check out politics.ie to see who is regarded as the worst performing minister in Government.Dick Roche,Michael McDowell have pariah status.Hannafin,O'Dea,Dermott Ahern get mentioned more than Cullen as being bad mimisters. Micheal Martin has been accused of responsibility for the Nursing Home charges scandal and PPARS which will easily cost a billion of taxpayers money when held up to the light.On the other hand since Cullen became Minister for Transport projects have been coming in ahead of schedule and under budget.We never here about this because Good News is No News especially for Indo journalism.Cullen has also takes a lot of Flak for decisions he makes that are actually Bertie decisions.He tests the water and if they prove unpopular he takes the Heat.If they don't then Bertie takes the credit.A typical example was the suggestion to put a series of tolls on the M50.This was a Bertie idea but Cullen pitched it.

I think the only reason we are kidding ourselves is to pretend the flak that Cullen receives is something other than politics.Most of the heat these days about Cullen is from the opposition parties going on about stuff that happened two or three years ago and as I said one of those issues was inherited.This is the job of the opposition.The real question is why does Cullen attract more flak in the media than he deserves.The reason is this,most of us are political animals whether or not we like to admit to it or not including journalists and our local oppositin politician.There is plenty of people out there who think Waterford doesn't deserve cabinet representation.There was no shortage of people in Cork in 2002 who believed they had some sort of divine right to two cabinet ministers.Cullens appointment knocked this on the head.

The power of media opinion in Ireland may be heavily overated.There are signs that they are massively out of touch with the public.The print media consists mostly of Oirish tabloids who have imported the worst type of sleazy journalism from the UK.The Indo is no better.What does that leave us with,The CORK examiner and the Irish Times.Cullen may not have delivered everthing on Waterfords Shopping list.However if you look at what has been deliverd and ask yourself would the alternative have equaled this I think any unpartisan view will say no.

If there is an alternative Government its Guaranteed that Brendam Howlin and Phil Hogan,Twomey will be the voices of the South East.Their rethoric over the years has shown to be anti-Waterford.Whats worse still Deasy has been singing off this Hymn sheet lately.All these things are academic However.I will vote for Genghis Khan if he delivers the Goodies for the City and County.So far You are basically saying Cullen is worthless and I am contradicting you.The question is even if Cullen has no portfolio in the next FF led government would that situation be worse for Waterford than a FG led "alternative" government.The answer is think is no.So bearing that in mind Van what alternative does Waterford have than voting for the incumbents.

Bards

Well Said Mad Man... couldn't have put it better myself:D

merlante

Bards wrote:

Well Said Mad Man... couldn't have put it better myself:D

Indeed, Cullen is the easiest person in the country to slag or abuse. It comes from a long standing habit engendered by the media. So any of the lads that have nothing good to say about him (and plenty bad) could you please advise us who to vote for that would do better. Seriously. Make some suggestions.

I too would vote for Ghengis Khan if he delivered the goods. I'd love if Waterford was the sort of place where we could follow our hearts and elect greens, 'progressive' socialists, 'feed the world and spread the love' type candidates, but we can't, because the second we take our eye off the ball, as history has taught us, we'll be back to zero delivery on everything!

We wouldn't be able to fund cats eyes on the Airport Rd., let alone a runway extension.

Trotter

merlante wrote:

the second we take our eye off the ball, as history has taught us, we'll be back to zero delivery on everything!

Apart from the balance of power situation, isnt the above a perfectly strong reason to elect an independent? Basically they have the freedom to say what they like, so if our party affiliated TD's are not performing in the Dáil, we have a 4th TD who can act as a watchdog and a pressuriser. If the 3 party TDs are not performing well for us in Dublin, a good independent will be all over the local papers telling us exactly that.

Keep Cullen in.. realistically he's our only shot at having a minister.

John Deasy to stay in too because his amazing outpourings actually get us in the news, and no publicity is bad publicity.

Mary Roche to grab Bertie by the throat should he need the independents to form a govt (Highly likely in my opinion), and to scream and shout in the Dáil for the people of Waterford.

and.. Brian O'Shea because he's very good at the little things that people need to phone a TD for.


Whatya think... dream team or wha..