General and Quick-Fire Questions

DeVore

This thread is for quick-fire questions and answers or for questions which dont fall under the broad headings of the other threads.


DeV.

Nijmegen

The government seems to have quietly set aside the whole issue of reforming finance in politics, and I note that despite the odd call for it nothing concrete has happened.

You said in July that the GP would go to the people if the legislation to reform campaign finance wasn't enacted by the end of the year. Will the legislation be in place by then? If not, will you really pull out of government? And if it is, will the reforms be in place and law by the time of the earliest likely general election, say Spring 2011?

southsiderosie

Given the government's revenue shortfalls, the European economics commissioner has signaled that Ireland might need to reconsider its low corporate tax rate. The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland has vehemently protested.

Do you think that the corporate tax rate should be increased? If so, to what level? If not, why?

In addition, the debate over the corporate tax rate touches on many of the pre-Lisbon treaty concerns in Ireland over national sovereignty, particularly when it comes to fiscal policy.

Do you think the actions of the government have put Ireland's economic sovereignty at risk? Is 'economic sovereignty' even a viable concept in Ireland, given the country's reliance on foreign investment and (increasingly) the European Central Bank?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

PaulGogartyTD

Nijmegen wrote: »

The government seems to have quietly set aside the whole issue of reforming finance in politics, and I note that despite the odd call for it nothing concrete has happened.

You said in July that the GP would go to the people if the legislation to reform campaign finance wasn't enacted by the end of the year. Will the legislation be in place by then? If not, will you really pull out of government? And if it is, will the reforms be in place and law by the time of the earliest likely general election, say Spring 2011?

The Government hasn't set aside the issue of reforming funding of political parties and specifically corporate donations. It is still in place to be introduced. The delay has not come from Fianna Fail stone-walling, but rather from delays within the drafting process. A lot of legislation is going through John Gormley's department and it is taking time. In my view too much time. I would gladly delay the Dublin Mayor legislation to allow the corporate donations legislation to be front loaded. But this isn't going to happen because the corporate donations stuff is not going to be ready for a while yet, while the Mayoralty stuff is just about ready.

There was another issue in that the Attorney General apparently raised issues relating to what the exact definition of a "corporate donation" is. But this was not the substantive issue and should not and will not stop amending legislation being introduced.

If Fianna Fail go back on promises made on the policy front, and assuming the budget is tough but as fair as can be, then the Green Party would do its duty by the country and pass the budget but we would clearly see no reason for staying any longer after that time if we were being messed around.

But as it stands we aren't being messed around. Not to say it won't be tried though.

PaulGogartyTD

southsiderosie wrote: »

Given the government's revenue shortfalls, the European economics commissioner has signaled that Ireland might need to reconsider its low corporate tax rate. The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland has vehemently protested.

Do you think that the corporate tax rate should be increased? If so, to what level? If not, why?

In addition, the debate over the corporate tax rate touches on many of the pre-Lisbon treaty concerns in Ireland over national sovereignty, particularly when it comes to fiscal policy.

Do you think the actions of the government have put Ireland's economic sovereignty at risk? Is 'economic sovereignty' even a viable concept in Ireland, given the country's reliance on foreign investment and (increasingly) the European Central Bank?

The Green Party had originally as part of its policy suggested that a small increase in corporation tax would not affect our competitiveness but would ensure that corporations would pay a fairer share. This was not agreed in the Programme for Government and as such we support current Government policy to leave as is. It is one of the few remaining USP's we have.

There may be pressure to change, but there is no obligation. And I think it is cheeky of the Germans to poo poo our low rate of corporation tax when they assist companies through other measures.

As regards economic sovereignty, I think the greater influence on that is our membership of the euro as opposed to the passing of Lisbon. That said I think we would be made to leave the eurozone, even with the limitations it puts on domestic monetary policy.

The issue of what sovereignty remains is dealt with in a separate discussion (patriotic duty) in terms of what controls we have now versus what we would have if the IMF came in.

PaulGogartyTD

donegalfella wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The 15 members of Government make the real decisions. The Dail is too often a rubber stamping exercise. Sometimes this is a necessity, but real debate and influence is curtailed excessively.

A Government cannot provide full information on every occasion as some of it is confidential and cannot risk being leaked. At the same time the system of parliamentary questions and questions to the Taoiseach does allow for information to be released.

I would prefer more quick fire questioning as with the UK parliament, however.

Regarding reforms, I would like to see certain votes to be whip free. This would give the Dail a lot more leeway to be truly representative of the people. It should sit more often, especially on Fridays, with more family friendly hours and greater opportunities to raise topical issues early in the day.

This ties in with electoral reform, which is to be looked at under the PfG. If we had single seat PR, for example, with a top up list based on vote performance by parties and individuals nationally, you would have a more representative Dail focused on legislation and national issues rather than clientist and local issues.

There is an expectation as a TD that I work on local issues, and am happy to do so, but if that role was curtailed I think you would find many representatives would be liberated to do more creative, long term work.

Nijmegen

PaulGogartyTD wrote: »

The Government hasn't set aside the issue of reforming funding of political parties and specifically corporate donations. It is still in place to be introduced. The delay has not come from Fianna Fail stone-walling, but rather from delays within the drafting process. A lot of legislation is going through John Gormley's department and it is taking time. In my view too much time. I would gladly delay the Dublin Mayor legislation to allow the corporate donations legislation to be front loaded. But this isn't going to happen because the corporate donations stuff is not going to be ready for a while yet, while the Mayoralty stuff is just about ready.

There was another issue in that the Attorney General apparently raised issues relating to what the exact definition of a "corporate donation" is. But this was not the substantive issue and should not and will not stop amending legislation being introduced.

If Fianna Fail go back on promises made on the policy front, and assuming the budget is tough but as fair as can be, then the Green Party would do its duty by the country and pass the budget but we would clearly see no reason for staying any longer after that time if we were being messed around.

But as it stands we aren't being messed around. Not to say it won't be tried though.

Thank you for that answer Paul, it is genuinely insightful. If I could ask a follow on before putting the issue to bed:

Does Minister Gormley expect to have the relevant legislation ready to go to the Oireachtas by the end of the year? And if I could clarify, would such legislation take force by the time of the coming election?

Next question:

You seem to be of the view that the Green Party is in at this stage to pass the budget, to do your duty as you term it. After the budget is their an increased likelyhood of the Green party pulling the plug? Is there a feeling in the party to want to get out of government with Fianna Fail and call an election?

gandalf

Paul this is a question more so as a TD than a Green Party TD.

As a member of the national Parliament do you feel you and your colleagues are impeded by the expectations of your local constituents and are dragged into the realms and responsibilities of councillors? What changes do you feel are necessary so we can ensure our National Representatives are allowed to concentrate on facing national issues and planning for the future even when it may be at the detriment of their local constituents but in the overall national good?

I looked at your website last night and 8 of the 10 stories were about issues that I would class as local government and not national issues. To be fair I have just got a newsletter from Conor Lenihan this morning in the normal daily junk mail drop and everything in that could be classified as local issues as well.

Personally I believe the time has come to implement a list system in this country for the National Parliament. Is this something you could support or you would feel the Green Party could support?

deelite

There are so many empty council houses around why aren't these offered to rent to people currently receiving Rental Supplement - surely that would save a few euro.

Secondly I understand that the CWO's are due to come back under the social welfare umbrella - at the moment the phones aren't being answered in the local sw offices, the dole queues are long (one employee operating the sign on hatch) - how is this going to help people who need urgent financial assistance. As it is people are waiting for weeks for the "dole" to come through.

bijapos

Question posted by nesf

Q: Why is this Government, who are doomed to be voted out in the next election, not using this opportunity to do a root and branch reworking of the public service and correct the deep inefficiencies that plague the institution. They've nothing to lose, they can afford to take very unpopular yet necessary actions.

PaulGogartyTD

Nijmegen wrote: »

Thank you for that answer Paul, it is genuinely insightful. If I could ask a follow on before putting the issue to bed:

Does Minister Gormley expect to have the relevant legislation ready to go to the Oireachtas by the end of the year? And if I could clarify, would such legislation take force by the time of the coming election?

Next question:

You seem to be of the view that the Green Party is in at this stage to pass the budget, to do your duty as you term it. After the budget is their an increased likelyhood of the Green party pulling the plug? Is there a feeling in the party to want to get out of government with Fianna Fail and call an election?

Let's just say that the parliamentary party is putting pressure on the Minister to hurry up with the legislation. I would rather know if FF intend to block it sooner rather than later. John has indicated he will go as fast as he can.

There are other issues we want to progress, so if we can and we are achieving, we will stay in for a while longer. These include issues such as appointments to public bodies and electoral reform.

In terms of whether the corporate donations will be in place to impact on the next election, the honest answer is I don't know.

PaulGogartyTD

bijapos wrote: »

Question posted by nesf

Q: Why is this Government, who are doomed to be voted out in the next election, not using this opportunity to do a root and branch reworking of the public service and correct the deep inefficiencies that plague the institution. They've nothing to lose, they can afford to take very unpopular yet necessary actions.

I would agree and would have thought that the Croke Park Agreement was at least a step in the right direction. However while some areas are making progress, eg the INTO are already working with schools to add extra hours into the system, there seems to be confusion as to what movement if any is taking place overall. The unions are blaming management but ultimately the buck stops with Government if it isn't implemented.

The funny thing is that if Croke Park doesn't get implemented fully, then next year could see reforms being imposed. It would be ironic if these were implemented by a Labour Party minister in Government.

PaulGogartyTD

gandalf wrote: »

Paul this is a question more so as a TD than a Green Party TD.

As a member of the national Parliament do you feel you and your colleagues are impeded by the expectations of your local constituents and are dragged into the realms and responsibilities of councillors? What changes do you feel are necessary so we can ensure our National Representatives are allowed to concentrate on facing national issues and planning for the future even when it may be at the detriment of their local constituents but in the overall national good?

I looked at your website last night and 8 of the 10 stories were about issues that I would class as local government and not national issues. To be fair I have just got a newsletter from Conor Lenihan this morning in the normal daily junk mail drop and everything in that could be classified as local issues as well.

Personally I believe the time has come to implement a list system in this country for the National Parliament. Is this something you could support or you would feel the Green Party could support?

I agree, a certain type of list system. See my reply to Donegal

Nijmegen

Do you expect the Green Party to have any deputies returned to the Dail after the coming election?

What are your plans, and the party plans in general, for life after what looks to be a worse-than-PD style drubbing to come?

Do you feel that a smaller party in government gets an unfair portion of the blame come election time?

southsiderosie

PaulGogartyTD wrote: »

As regards economic sovereignty, I think the greater influence on that is our membership of the euro as opposed to the passing of Lisbon. That said I think we would be made to leave the eurozone, even with the limitations it puts on domestic monetary policy.

On the issue of the euro zone, do you think Ireland opting out (or being shoved out) is a real possibility in the next 2-3 years? Certainly there are voices in some quarters - David McWilliams for one - who have called for Ireland to bite the bullet and dump the euro. If Ireland does stay in the euro zone, how can it regain competitiveness without a process of 'long, slow, grinding deflation'?

Speaking of which, seaniedearg noted in the questions thread that in today's Indo column McWilliams called for some kind of debt forgiveness in Ireland, 'both personal and institutional'. Would you be in favor of some kind of debt forgiveness program, or at a minimum, a change in Irish bankruptcy law that would make it easier for both families and businesses to pick up the pieces again after financial disaster?

DeVore

I will say this on the topic of the Greens getting it worse than FF.

Its one of the few areas that I DO feel sorry for the greens. Its like "we didnt expect anything but corruption and brown envelopes from FF but we held the Greens up to higher standards.... so, even though they may not have been *as bad* as FF, they were relatively worse then our expectations."

Basically we feel proportionately MORE let down by the Greens even though I would contend that they werent as culpable as FF. We just didnt expect anything different from FF.

I wouldnt absolve the Greens for NOT blowing the whistle or having more backbone but I think the lions share of the blame should be laid at the FF door.

When you think about it, the Greens are unlikely to return a TD next election... while we are almost certain to get several FF deputies. That seems wrong to me.

DeV.

bijapos

Post 98 by dublindave

Do you think Ireland should continue to contribute €950m each year to overseas aid, even though we will have to borrow every cent.

bijapos

Post 8 by maxwell smart

Why is the government and the public/civil service not run as a business, with real accountability, where people who make mistakes are reprimanded, where fraud is punished and where performance is measured against strict targets? (Like in the real world).

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

bijapos

Posted by bamboozle post 38

my 3 questions for Deputy Gogarty;

Q1-Ben Bernanke as head of the US Fed Reserve has arguably the most important job in finance in the world, his salary is $185,000 PA. Patrick Neary the retired former head of the Financial Regulator has a pension of €145,000 (at todays fx rate =$201k). How can our state justify paying such an exorbitant pension to someone who performed so poorly?

Q2-Why dont we have a fully vouched expense system for politicians?

Q3-Given the last time the Seanad rejected a Dail Bill was in the 1960's, how can we justify the expenses incurred in running such a toothless body?

PaulGogartyTD

deelite wrote: »

There are so many empty council houses around why aren't these offered to rent to people currently receiving Rental Supplement - surely that would save a few euro.

Secondly I understand that the CWO's are due to come back under the social welfare umbrella - at the moment the phones aren't being answered in the local sw offices, the dole queues are long (one employee operating the sign on hatch) - how is this going to help people who need urgent financial assistance. As it is people are waiting for weeks for the "dole" to come through.

As regards houses, I agree. It makes sense. There aren't that many refurbished Council houses around, however. To refurbish takes time and money and because the allocation of rent allowance comes through different channels, there is no joined up thinking in operation to try and come up with overall efficiencies. It is not an area I deal with specifically as a spokesperson although it has been raised within the PP on a number of occasions.

On SW, I have had reports from constituents of a very slow service and inability to get through to talk to people face to face. Thanks to the help of a couple of good people in social welfare management I have been able to get the responses required for constituents.

I would say that a good level of service should always be forthcoming without having to go through an elected representative. And it isn't. I don't know exactly why is the answer. Part of it is the legacy of industrial action, part of it is down to resourcing. Part of it is down to increasing numbers. Yet people who are in receipt of social welfare need to be dealt with efficiently and with dignity.

Perhaps if there were spot checks carried out it might assist.

PaulGogartyTD

southsiderosie wrote: »

On the issue of the euro zone, do you think Ireland opting out (or being shoved out) is a real possibility in the next 2-3 years? Certainly there are voices in some quarters - David McWilliams for one - who have called for Ireland to bite the bullet and dump the euro. If Ireland does stay in the euro zone, how can it regain competitiveness without a process of 'long, slow, grinding deflation'?

Speaking of which, seaniedearg noted in the questions thread that in today's Indo column McWilliams called for some kind of debt forgiveness in Ireland, 'both personal and institutional'. Would you be in favor of some kind of debt forgiveness program, or at a minimum, a change in Irish bankruptcy law that would make it easier for both families and businesses to pick up the pieces again after financial disaster?

First question, no. I think the euro is more likely to collapse than us get chucked out. But still not likely.

On the second one, yes, I think it is essential and will happen. On the second, we could certainly look at the US model where you can get knocked down and get back up again, but I am not enough of an expert to say what the negative implications would be. Certainly the current model needs to be re-examined.

PaulGogartyTD

donegalfella wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I thought I answered that one earlier, unless it didn't post properly.

bijapos

Post 72 by timbel

Do you think that sitting TDs should be able to claim pensions?

Should TDs be able to claim multiple pensions (ministerial, etc) at the same time?

When is the government going to bring in real reform of the political system (not the half baked "reform" of expenses last budget)?

By this I mean,
- reducing the ratio of TDs to population
- fully vouched expenses
- 1 pension per TD which can only be claimed at retirement (this mean proper retirement, not finishing in the Dail and going back to work in the private sector, eg. as a non executive director of some board, etc)

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

PaulGogartyTD

bijapos wrote: »

Posted by bamboozle post 38

my 3 questions for Deputy Gogarty;

Q1-Ben Bernanke as head of the US Fed Reserve has arguably the most important job in finance in the world, his salary is $185,000 PA. Patrick Neary the retired former head of the Financial Regulator has a pension of €145,000 (at todays fx rate =$201k). How can our state justify paying such an exorbitant pension to someone who performed so poorly?

Q2-Why dont we have a fully vouched expense system for politicians?

Q3-Given the last time the Seanad rejected a Dail Bill was in the 1960's, how can we justify the expenses incurred in running such a toothless body?

1. That was the rate in place at the time. It would be open to legal challenge if changed retrospectively. Our costs are higher, so our wages should be higher, but that said, our wages are too high in terms of our competitiveness.

2. Some things like constituency travel and car repair etc are too difficult to quantify and separate. At least we now have a swipe system and the majority of the expenses are vouched. Pity half of the Oireachtas opted for a lower unvouched payment instead. That should be scrapped.

3. Seanad reform is needed, deep rooted Seanad reform, including elections by popular vote.

bijapos

Posted by Sparks in questions thread

Most of the questions asked thus far have been questions with answers which are in the same category as most posts on boards.ie - which is to say, that the only answers you can give as a TD are your opinions on what 165 other TDs should do to resolve the issue, and obviously you cannot hold them to your opinion on what should be done.

So I would like to ask, in the time remaining in this Government, what your specific goals are for national level (not local level) issues and policies. What legislative changes do you hope to bring forward, which do you intend to oppose, and what is the minimum level of achievement with respect to those goals that you would consider to be success?

NB: The question is on the Deputy's own personal goals, not the Green Party's or the Governments.

bijapos

PaulGogartyTD wrote: »

1. That was the rate in place at the time. It would be open to legal challenge if changed retrospectively. Our costs are higher, so our wages should be higher, but that said, our wages are too high in terms of our competitiveness.

Do you mean wages in general such as the minimum wage?

I think the poster was referring to the enormous wages, pensions and golden handshakes that are handed out to state and semi state employees, that these have little to do with the real world and that there seems to be no move to reform this.

2. Some things like constituency travel and car repair etc are too difficult to quantify and separate. At least we now have a swipe system and the majority of the expenses are vouched. Pity half of the Oireachtas opted for a lower unvouched payment instead. That should be scrapped.

How is it too difficult to quantify? Surely a once off annual payment based on the distance from the home/constituency to the dail would be appropriate.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

bijapos

Posted by Laminations

The deputy responds to a question on Patrick Nearys salary in comparison to Ben Bernecke's by simply saying 'that was the agreed amount'. This says nothing as to whether he thinks Neary deserved such a salary or now deserves such a large pension, for what was essentially failure to regulate. Neary said on Primetime that all our banks were adequately capitalised and in need of no help!!

So does the deputy think that something should and could be done to tax the pensions of high paid public servants who screw up so royally?

bijapos

posted by Anonymous1987

What is the green party stance on nuclear power in Ireland? Do they see it as a favourable economically viable alternative source of energy or not and why?

oppenheimer1

As far as I'm aware, and I checked the website of the green party to confirm, the Green party are the only political party in the Dáil that doesn't have a clear policy in relation to Drugs/narcotics. Why is this? (correct me if I'm wrong) Does the green party support the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use?

oppenheimer1

Questions from Slydice with a request to take particular attention to point 3.

Slydice wrote: »

Q1: What exactly would FF need to do for him to stop voting with them in the Dail?

Q2: What does he think would FF need to do for the GP to stop voting with them in the Dail?

Q3: How does he feel about having voted to shackle the Irish people with 100b legacy of debt? URL="http://twitter.com/brianmlucey/statuses/25977679606"]1[/URL URL="http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2010/09/30/banking-statement-by-minister-of-finance/#comment-78337"]2[/URL

southsiderosie

Immigration is consistently one of the most contentious issues on boards. The Green Party's web briefing on immigration has apparently not been updated since 2005, and certainly a lot has changed since then. Could you please address the following:

1. What if anything would you have done differently regarding the admission of Eastern European workers into the Irish labor market in 2004?

2. The Pamela Izevbekhai case has contributed to throwing the entire Irish asylum process into disrepute. What changes do you think need to be made in the asylum system?

3. What if any role should the government play in promoting social, economic, and political integration? And how can this be done given the economic situation of the government?

DeVore

Ok, lets let Paul catch up, we'll call a moratorium on questions for the moment....

DeV.

Terry

Due to my lack of internet access today, DeV has given me permission to post this question.
Thank you, Tom.

IRMA collect IP addresses of those downloading illegally. I feel that this is an invasion of privacy. Would you agree?

I am of the opinion that the only people who should be investigated for illegal internet usage are suspected terrorists and paedophiles.
I feel that file sharing is akin to borrowing a cassette from a friend and using a double cassette player to record an album to a blank tape.

Minister Gogarty, we're roughly the same age. We both grew up in the 1980's. I'm not accusing you of any wrong doing, but I believe that there is a high possiblity that you broke copyright laws by recording a copyrighted tape that you borrowed from a friend when you were younger.

I have broken this law. My first copy of Nirvana's "Bleach" was passed to me on a blank tape. I went on to make a copy of a copy of this for myself.
I use Nirvana as an example. There were many more lesser known bands before and after this.

Do you condone the prosecution of people sharing copyrighted MP3 (mp4, flac, ogg, aac, wma etc.) files, when the sharing of copyrighted music has been happening since the advent of home recording?

I have a large collection of vinyl albums and singles, but they are scratched. I paid for these and can no longer listen to them properly.
Would you support me being prosecuted for downloading mp3 versions of these albums? Remember that I have already paid for these recordings.

Allow me to give you a simple example.
In 1983 I purchased a copy of U2's Boy album on vinyl with my communion money.
In 1988 I purchased a copy of the same album on cassette for my new Sony walkman.*

I have paid for that album on two seperate occasions. Were I to download an mp3 version of that through a file sharing site, there is a chance that I would be prosecuted.

I no longer own a walkman or a record player. How am I supposed to listen to the material I purchased?

Do you believe I should be punished for gaining access to material I have already paid for?

Would you support legislation which would not punish people who engage in P2P downloading if they can produce a physical copy of an album they have been convicted of downloading, thus showing that they have already paid for it?

Also, do you support the current copyright laws, wherein a person can actually be prosecuted for buying a CD and giving it to someone else as a gift? According to these laws, you cannot give any music you purchase to anyone else, so buying someone a CD as a present is actually illegal.


*No, I do not have 27 and 22 year old reciepts to prove I bought those albums. The record shop in Celbridge has been closed for years. I doubt they would remember me anyway.

PaulGogartyTD

Nijmegen wrote: »

Do you expect the Green Party to have any deputies returned to the Dail after the coming election?

What are your plans, and the party plans in general, for life after what looks to be a worse-than-PD style drubbing to come?

Do you feel that a smaller party in government gets an unfair portion of the blame come election time?

Do I expect us to have any re-elected? I don't know really. If people knew our motivations and the facts behind all the decisions then perhaps we would do well. But that's lah lah land politics. Even Obama has record low ratings. And as I said elsewhere, the German Greens hit a 3% low while in Government; now as an opposition party they are second in the polls at 24% nationally.

So I perhaps expect us to still have some Dail representation, but hope for us to have more.

My plans personally? If not re-elected, I want to record an album, write a book or two, do a few journalistic nixers and become the primary carer for my children for a few years.

I would also be on half pay severance for about six months afterwards (we don't get unemployment benefit but severance), and those six months would be spent working on behalf of the community at a part-time level. After that it would be more on a lower level as I would have to find alternative work or be heavily engaged in child-rearing.

If re-elected, along with my work as a TD, which would be in opposition most likely, I would like to spend more time with my children anyhow, record an album anyhow and write a book anyhow as I always wanted to do so. Any journalistic nixers would realistically have to be donated to charity or done for free (as is the case with stuff I do now as an elected TD), unless the subject matter had nothing to do with politics. You got to have a life and for a while now I have had a half-life.

Do I feel the smaller party gets an unfair proportion of the blame? Too right I do.

PaulGogartyTD

bijapos wrote: »

Posted by Laminations

The deputy responds to a question on Patrick Nearys salary in comparison to Ben Bernecke's by simply saying 'that was the agreed amount'. This says nothing as to whether he thinks Neary deserved such a salary or now deserves such a large pension, for what was essentially failure to regulate. Neary said on Primetime that all our banks were adequately capitalised and in need of no help!!

So does the deputy think that something should and could be done to tax the pensions of high paid public servants who screw up so royally?

Deserved it then or now? In hindsight clearly no.

I think that the pensions of high paid public servants could be taxed more, but it would be difficult to penalise someone unless they were convicted of commiting fraud. Penalties for bad judgement, even incompetence cannot be enforced retrospectively.

PaulGogartyTD

DeVore wrote: »

I will say this on the topic of the Greens getting it worse than FF.

Its one of the few areas that I DO feel sorry for the greens. Its like "we didnt expect anything but corruption and brown envelopes from FF but we held the Greens up to higher standards.... so, even though they may not have been *as bad* as FF, they were relatively worse then our expectations."

Basically we feel proportionately MORE let down by the Greens even though I would contend that they werent as culpable as FF. We just didnt expect anything different from FF.

I wouldnt absolve the Greens for NOT blowing the whistle or having more backbone but I think the lions share of the blame should be laid at the FF door.

When you think about it, the Greens are unlikely to return a TD next election... while we are almost certain to get several FF deputies. That seems wrong to me.

DeV.

We HAVE lived up to our principles. We aren't corrupt. We haven't taken money from vested interests. We are still driven by policy considerations rather than personal benefits. You could argue that ministerial positions are benefits, but you can only implement legislation as a minister in a particular department.

We took a decision that if all the major parties have dodgy sides to them, then you have to respect the mandate (eg Paisley and McGuinness) rather than engaging in futile purity contests. We made a number of major policy differences with more on the way shortly.

We negotiated on the basis of numbers available and decided that it was better to achieve what was possible rather than be so principled as to do nothing, but feel morally superior, which in politics is a zero sum game.

We know that FF share the blame for making the economic downturn worse but also believe genuinely that the other parties also contributed to the property bubble where they had power at local level and that this pro-developer process was influenced by corporate donations being legal.

We get flak for some of the more recent decisions like the bailout and NAMA but the fact is that we genuinely believe these to be the best course of action, based on the information made available to us.

We did appoint qualified Green people to certain public offices, but we also looked outside the party unlike other parties. We have promised to get rid of political patronage through appointments to public office legislation, something we obtained in the PfG.

We are not corrupt. But we did get off to a slow start in Government and sometimes we didn't respond quickly enough to things we should have. Perhaps people should feel sorry for us, but we certainly shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves. We made a decision in good faith and we have to take it on the chin and continue doing the best we can, while we can.

PaulGogartyTD

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, and I checked the website of the green party to confirm, the Green party are the only political party in the Dáil that doesn't have a clear policy in relation to Drugs/narcotics. Why is this? (correct me if I'm wrong) Does the green party support the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use?

We used to, but I think that policy was changed. I think we now support it for medicinal use only (open to correction and if so, will edit). The reason for such a stance in my opinion is that while a good percentage of people can take cannabis for recreational use and have no side effects, there are a minority who will suffer side effects or for whom cannabis becomes a gateway drug.

The same could be said for alcohol of course, by far the biggest recreational drug problem in Ireland.

PaulGogartyTD

southsiderosie wrote: »

Immigration is consistently one of the most contentious issues on boards. The Green Party's web briefing on immigration has apparently not been updated since 2005, and certainly a lot has changed since then. Could you please address the following:

1. What if anything would you have done differently regarding the admission of Eastern European workers into the Irish labor market in 2004?

2. The Pamela Izevbekhai case has contributed to throwing the entire Irish asylum process into disrepute. What changes do you think need to be made in the asylum system?

3. What if any role should the government play in promoting social, economic, and political integration? And how can this be done given the economic situation of the government?

Speaking personally:

1. Nothing. We are part of Europe with all its benefits and responsibilities.

2. Resources need to be put in to ensure that claims are processed quickly and fairly. Then you wouldn't have a situation where people become native. If they do, especially children, they should not be sent back, even if they are found to be economic migrants. I was involved in the Kunle Eluhanlo case and was heartened to see how he was supported by his classmates and community in Palmerstown.

I think that non EU applicants should be free to apply for work permits from the home country and subsequently qualify for social welfare on the basis of contributions. If there was a fair quota-based work system it might help in defining what constitutes an economic migrant and an asylum seeker. But I don't have the time to elaborate here, or tie it in with party policy.

3. The Government needs to be proactive in areas such as housing and education. Creating ghettos benefits no-one. Schools where there are a high level of kids with english as a second language need additional supports. With investment, newcomer children and adults should be a net economic benefit.

PaulGogartyTD

bijapos wrote: »

Post 98 by dublindave

Do you think Ireland should continue to contribute €950m each year to overseas aid, even though we will have to borrow every cent.

Yes, it's a moral duty. But we should always get value for that money in terms of outcomes. A more equal world benefits everyone in terms of trade and global stability. Pity other larger countries don't take the same view as Ireland.

PaulGogartyTD

bijapos wrote: »

posted by Anonymous1987

What is the green party stance on nuclear power in Ireland? Do they see it as a favourable economically viable alternative source of energy or not and why?

Eamon Ryan has always said he supports a debate. But aside from the arguments about economic viability without state subsidies and the massive danger/cost of waste storage, it is clear that Ireland may not be ideally suited for nuclear in any event.

The economies of scale are not there in terms of our population size. It would take 20+ years to commission. We would have domestic storage issues, or else high costs of overseas storage. We would have to pay for the raw materials in any event, just like we import oil and gas today. And lastly we would have to have a backup powered by fossil fuels.

Better to focus on our comparative advantage, renewables, which are costly by today's oil and gas prices, but with peak oil and other rising transportation costs will be comparatively cheaper in just a few years. Renewables can be stored and our energy can be exported at peak production to the UK and mainland Europe.

DeVore

Terry: You might be interested to learn that while you Internet was out..... UPC won their case.



DeV.

PaulGogartyTD

Terry wrote: »

Due to my lack of internet access today, DeV has given me permission to post this question.
Thank you, Tom.

IRMA collect IP addresses of those downloading illegally. I feel that this is an invasion of privacy. Would you agree?

I am of the opinion that the only people who should be investigated for illegal internet usage are suspected terrorists and paedophiles.
I feel that file sharing is akin to borrowing a cassette from a friend and using a double cassette player to record an album to a blank tape.

Minister Gogarty, we're roughly the same age. We both grew up in the 1980's. I'm not accusing you of any wrong doing, but I believe that there is a high possiblity that you broke copyright laws by recording a copyrighted tape that you borrowed from a friend when you were younger.

I have broken this law. My first copy of Nirvana's "Bleach" was passed to me on a blank tape. I went on to make a copy of a copy of this for myself.
I use Nirvana as an example. There were many more lesser known bands before and after this.

Do you condone the prosecution of people sharing copyrighted MP3 (mp4, flac, ogg, aac, wma etc.) files, when the sharing of copyrighted music has been happening since the advent of home recording?

I have a large collection of vinyl albums and singles, but they are scratched. I paid for these and can no longer listen to them properly.
Would you support me being prosecuted for downloading mp3 versions of these albums? Remember that I have already paid for these recordings.

Allow me to give you a simple example.
In 1983 I purchased a copy of U2's Boy album on vinyl with my communion money.
In 1988 I purchased a copy of the same album on cassette for my new Sony walkman.*

I have paid for that album on two seperate occasions. Were I to download an mp3 version of that through a file sharing site, there is a chance that I would be prosecuted.

I no longer own a walkman or a record player. How am I supposed to listen to the material I purchased?

Do you believe I should be punished for gaining access to material I have already paid for?

Would you support legislation which would not punish people who engage in P2P downloading if they can produce a physical copy of an album they have been convicted of downloading, thus showing that they have already paid for it?

Also, do you support the current copyright laws, wherein a person can actually be prosecuted for buying a CD and giving it to someone else as a gift? According to these laws, you cannot give any music you purchase to anyone else, so buying someone a CD as a present is actually illegal.


*No, I do not have 27 and 22 year old reciepts to prove I bought those albums. The record shop in Celbridge has been closed for years. I doubt they would remember me anyway.

I am a bit torn on this. As a music lover, I want the artists I like to get paid adequately for what they have produced. But I don't want to pay for it twice or thrice over because of the various formats.

So for repeats or for sharing with friends, I think it is fair to allow people copy and share, because if you get interested in a band or artist, you will pay the full whack for new material.

I don't like the I.P stuff being used, but then again there are those who have made great profits through piracy. And stealing new material that you don't already own is theft. Sharing with friends is common sense, but sharing with strangers is theft in my view, unless you are downloading stuff you already have in a different format.

The only way around this on a global basis would be to create a new system whereby those who want to purchase can, those who want to re-register can and those who want to share or lease can, at a realistic very low price per play. But this could only be for new material and not for stuff that is already out there. I am not proficient enough in the technology to know if this would work without being hacked, but not everyone can afford to do a Radiohead and hope that people will pay a reasonable amount for their work.

Sorry if its a scattergun answer. It's getting later and I am typing faster....

DeVore

Sorry rereading my post, while I didnt say the Green party was "corrupt" someone could read between the lines and think I was saying that.

Here's a hint, if I thought the Greens were corrupt, I would type this: "I think the Green Party is corrupt"

I was highlighting the rather absurd situation where the Greens are getting it in the neck WORSE then FF simply because people feel "let down by them" (rightly or wrongly) relative to FF who they kinda expect it from

Nothing more, nothing less. I think that the party may have made some long term, strategic mistakes by getting into bed with FF. Admittedly things have gone "t*ts up" in the mean time in a way few foresaw but well... you cant lie with dogs and complain about fleas


Still, I just wanted to correct that mis-assumption. I do not accuse the Greens of corruption. Other things, perhaps but not that, imho.

DeV.

Terry

DeVore wrote: »

Terry: You might be interested to learn that while you Internet was out..... UPC won their case.



DeV.

I saw that yesterday, and that was one of the things which prompted my question.

UPC offer 20Mb lines out my way, but the best I can get is 14Mb, and that's pushing it.
The only viable option for me is Eircom. I stated that in the thread you linked to.

Whilst it did go down today, It's (apart from UPC) the only one offering unlimited downloads.
UPC went down at least 3 times a week. Eircom is stable most of the time.

Me and the majority of those close to me are being ripped off by all ISP's,
This "up to " stuff needs to be sorted out.
I have "Up to " 8Mb broadband. The reality is about 6.5Mb.

Yeah, they can pimp it at whatever speed, but that's no use to the end user.

I'm happy enough. Gamers are not.

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oppenheimer1

Regarding Third Level Fees

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

What is the greens position on fees by the back door... ie. massive increases in the registration fee? It has already been raised significantly during the lifetime of this government.

PaulGogartyTD

DeVore wrote: »

Sorry rereading my post, while I didnt say the Green party was "corrupt" someone could read between the lines and think I was saying that.

Here's a hint, if I thought the Greens were corrupt, I would type this: "I think the Green Party is corrupt"

I was highlighting the rather absurd situation where the Greens are getting it in the neck WORSE then FF simply because people feel "let down by them" (rightly or wrongly) relative to FF who they kinda expect it from

Nothing more, nothing less. I think that the party may have made some long term, strategic mistakes by getting into bed with FF. Admittedly things have gone "t*ts up" in the mean time in a way few foresaw but well... you cant lie with dogs and complain about fleas


Still, I just wanted to correct that mis-assumption. I do not accuse the Greens of corruption. Other things, perhaps but not that, imho.

DeV.

I take what you say on board. I know you didn't say corrupt, but many reading your post might be thinking it, something that bugs me big time.

Those who say we sold out or rolled over or were complicit in wrong doing might be wrong in my view in terms of the politically obtainable, but my journalistic background would acknowledge that such opinions are fair comment. Calling us corrupt is a bit tight, but given that I said in the Dail and the radio that Fianna Fail are "addicted to corruption" you can understand some people wanting revenge ;-) .

Plus you can have an addiction but being a recovering addict. Once corporate donations legislation is in, it will be more difficult for FF to go dipso with developers, FG go bananas with business interests and for Labour to tango with trade unions.

Terry

PaulGogartyTD wrote: »

Once corporate donations legislation is in, it will be more difficult for FF to go dipso with developers, FG go bananas with business interests and for Labour to tango with trade unions.

This is something I am looking forward to.
I do have questions about certain aspects of this, but you're swamped, so I'll leave it be for now.