Fianna Failure: how do we prevent them doing this again?

luckylucky

My two cents: It should be built into the constitution that when the economy is growing that there should be no budget deficit, i.e. we don't need and didn't need massive growth, steady growth of 2-3% a year or thereabouts is just fine - if money had been taken out of the economy when it had been growing and set aside for the inevitable rainy day (understatement I know) then this economic meltdown could have been a mere minor recession.

CDfm

dan_d wrote: »

Excellent, an important question.

I think the only way really, is to change our system. I don't see any other way around it. The public memory is very short. I know my mother (who is in her mid 50s) occasionally refers to things that politicians did, how one party did this thing or the other thing, when she was younger - stuff that I've just never heard of, because I wasn't around then and it's never mentioned any more. The kind of thing that would make me think twice about voting for a particular party.

Mary Harney was known for getting natural gas installation grants payments for her constituents and haughey for the free bus passes for OAP's.

But something has to change....we can't just keep going the way we are.

All the Presidents Men about Nixon and Watergate was on the telly over the weekend. Public servants got jailed.

yermanoffthetv wrote: »

Ok heres an idea. How about that each government minister is bound to a social contract. Targets are set each budget and if ministers proformance falls conciderably short of those targets they would be forced to resign the ministerial post. They can feck off to the back benches or whever they want but it woud keep the front bench from getting too cozy otherwise there out on their arse.

That is fine in theory but the public service do the execution of the policies.

Its grand to have policies but they have to be put in place and how do you fire a Civil or Public Servant. Think regulators and think the Child Abuse Scandals where public servants did not act. Nothing happened them.

The other issue is that when a politician does not behave he is f*****

I do not like the man, but, Ivor Callelly proposed radical changes at the Dept of Health and was trying to run his area along business lines. However , he was shunted out of office over something relatively trivial. A house getting painted and the rumour is that someone went to a lot of trouble to get him.

So what politician in their right mind would take the Ivor trail if the wanted to be re-elected.

luckylucky wrote: »

My two cents: It should be built into the constitution that when the economy is growing that there should be no budget deficit, i.e. we don't need and didn't need massive growth, steady growth of 2-3% a year or thereabouts is just fine - if money had been taken out of the economy when it had been growing and set aside for the inevitable rainy day (understatement I know) then this economic meltdown could have been a mere minor recession.

Constitutions can only do so much and we live in a democracy.

The electorate decide how they are going to be governed.

An election is a beauty parade in giving people what they want rather than doing what is right.

caseyann

We should have put in place police to police the Government like they police the police like the The Garda Ombudsman

Oh and vote their wages aswell for them.We choose what to pay them not them choosing for themselves.Must be nice to decide own wages.

T runner

Monty Burnz wrote: »

I am sure FF will take a drubbing at the next election, but voters' memories are short and in all probability the party/parties that come in next to try to clean up the disaster that Fianna Failure have created will take the bulk of the blame for the cuts/unemployment/mental health problems etc. etc. (just as Obama is blamed for Bush's recession in the US).

The question is this: how do we prevent a resurgent Fianna Fail from coming back into power and destroying us all over again in 10-20 years with their parish pump politics, corruption and incompetence?

We must change the structure of politics in Ireland where the best local TD is not the one who can pull most strokes for his constituents.

We need more representative politicians. That may mean hard to swallow changes like gender quotas.


People must educate themselves and their children about politics.
We need to decise what type of country we want to live in. We are not helpless.

irishh_bob

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

over time I think people will learn to avoid FF like the plague but that won't happen overnight. Listen, the reason why this bunch of pricks was elected so many times is that a lot of the electorate were in bed with them.
They had the unions on their side due to blunders such as benchmarking (the latest reincarnation being the Croke Park agreement).

A lot of people did well out of FF, between land rezoning, property development, basically anything that would fit nicely in the Galway tent!
There were (and still are) a lot of greedy people in this country who feel they are above the common man and hence are invincible.
Only time can sort this out, it takes time to lean the lesson of a lifetime.

spot on , fianna fail operates like some masonic cult , those who vote for them are afforded special treatment and opportunitys , i know a pensioner who despite being quite well of is getting her roof entirely replaced and her house insulated for free , she sent in an application under some scheme and it was passed without even an on site inspecton , what ever QUANGO queen or civil servant examined the form simply told her , we,l take you at face value , this woman has a farm of land , drives a 2010 car , is over 66 and black fianna fail

dont think that your vote is secret , the party know who their own people are and they reward them for thier loyalty

CDfm

irishh_bob wrote: »

spot on , fianna fail operates like some masonic cult , those who vote for them are afforded special treatment and opportunitys ,

All political parties and politicians operate the same way, the idea that they do not is ludicrous.

You only have to look at the appointment of judges and garda sergeants and semi-state body board appointments or any discretionary appointments.

If you think that Fine Gael, Labour or the Greens do not operate the same way ,you are not dealing with reality.

Also, if you think that Unions and Public Servants do not use their powers and influence appointments then you are also not dealing with facts.

Politicians help other politicians and if TD X has a nephew a Garda then he will ask his opposite number to use his influence and vice versa.