Waterford Politics - Who's who?

dashboard_hula

I moved to Waterford about 3 years ago because of work. I've just sent off the forms to have my voting address moved to Waterford and I realised that I knew sweet shag-all about politics down here. I vaguely remember during the last election the posters around the city and county, but to be fair, I usually only laugh at the serious sexyface expressions on those.

These are the current TD's for Waterford

Current city councillors

I've spoken to a mod who has agreed that I can put forward a request for opinions on the political parties active in Waterford at the moment, and who may be putting themselves up for election/re-election in the New Year.

Would appreciate your genuine opinions on the various choices in the city and county, in keeping with boards rules and guidelines ofc

All the best,

A

Speak Now

Thanks for the wiki link, FF got 46% of 1st preference votes in last 2 elections in Waterford. That's a lot of votes up for grabs for the other parties next year. The choice looks limited though

ziedth

It's unfortunately not a topic I'd have any in dept Knowledge of but I have personally dealt with Brian O'Shea in the past and I thought he came across as a very genuine person.


I also met David Cullinane a number of times as he has family from where I grew up. Seemed grand but SF wouldn't really be a party for me.

It's about as good as I can be I'm afraid OP.

AdMMM

http://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2007&cons=226

The full breakdown from the last election.

You can be sure that the local media will be profiling all the candidates nearer the time.

Max Powers

The green party in Waterford has made it its business to stifle and hinder any progress in Waterford by objecting to everything from churches, shopping centres and creches to infrasturcture developments such as the motorway and unbelievably objecting to the train station being made more travel friendly. Im sure they will give you the usual bull quoting words like 'sustainabilty' and 'unsuitable' which are an unsuccesful attempt to give themselves an air of intelligence. Their national representation doesnt need any explanation.

Lab.. are a joke objecting to all moves while sitting on the fence.
FF...yeah right,
SF...dont make me laugh,
FG.. have made some good talk here in Waterford with regards to University which is badly needed for the region. Some of their reps are decent in fairness and have raised their voices on occasion.
Independents..do nothing and achieve f-all, unless you are Jackie Healy, i doubt independents will be needed in next election, not a certainty though

On a local level, councillors do f-all, do a lot of talking about achieving stuff but they usually just spend their time, doing reports, putting up parking fees and going on junkets at our expense. See one of our lady ex-mayors and a handy trip to NY where she was supposedly trying to secure jobs in Waterford Crystal. A complete joke, she achieved nothing and took her husband along for the holiday, sorry, ''jobs mission'' so they both could take in the delights of Broadway.
In all, they achieve nothing, any activity you see around the city centre has been down to the City Council and its relatively new city manager who has done a lot to better the place such as bringing Waterford Crystal to The Mall. The mayors main task is to appear in the local papers as many times as possible.

old gregg

happy and all as I'd be to see all FF and greens politicians treated as pariahs forever, did our former green friend object to a church? just asking.

Yes Boss

old gregg wrote: »

happy and all as I'd be to see all FF and greens politicians treated as pariahs forever, did our former green friend object to a church? just asking.

Yes

Deise Tom

Yes Boss wrote: »

Yes

Which, and was it one that made a name for himself out of objecting to everything for a number of years. Cant think of his name right now.

comeraghs

Brendan McCann AKA McCant did infact object to an extension of Ballygunner church ................ that man set Waterford city centre back 20 years or more .... we could have a lovely new shopping centre in the city centre and a modernised train station & a pizza shop in Railway Square if it wasn't for him.

If he hadn't stopped retailing developing in the city centre, that big white elephant in Ferrybank wouldn't have been built .............. muppet!

MoodRacer

Max Powers wrote: »

FG.. have made some good talk here in Waterford with regards to University which is badly needed for the region. Some of their reps are decent in fairness and have raised their voices on occasion.

By `good talk`do you mean the row between Cllr Tom Raine and Enda over Enda`s failure to confirm an earlier promise to upgrade WIT to uni status if FG got into power??

I think you let your mask slip pal;)

AdMMM

Fine Gael have been a bit of a PR machine in recent times with press Releases going into the papers over every little development to ensure constant exposure and coverage. Can be argued that they're doing no wrong however, as the media is there, as their PR people would say, to be exploited and manipulated.

Deise Tom

comeraghs wrote: »

Brendan McCann AKA McCant did infact object to an extension of Ballygunner church ................ that man set Waterford city centre back 20 years or more .... we could have a lovely new shopping centre in the city centre and a modernised train station & a pizza shop in Railway Square if it wasn't for him.

If he hadn't stopped retailing developing in the city centre, that big white elephant in Ferrybank wouldn't have been built .............. muppet!

Why would anyone want to object to an extension to the church. What grounds do he have. A lot of older people will tell you that you will have no luck in taking anything from the church or objecting to it. Alot (not all) of these old saying are often proven to be true, and they will tell you that those that do harm, take or object to such things as the church will never have luck in the long term.

Deise Tom

AdMMM wrote: »

Fine Gael have been a bit of a PR machine in recent times with press Releases going into the papers over every little development to ensure constant exposure and coverage. Can be argued that they're doing no wrong however, as the media is there, as their PR people would say, to be exploited and manipulated.

FG may be doing a lot of talk in Waterford, getting into the papers and on the Radio as often as possible, but how united as a party are they in Waterford (City, County & Town Councils), let alone in the island of Ireland

dashboard_hula

Thanks a lot for your responses - it's much appreciated. I'm usually a hardcore Labour voter but I'm starting to question it these days. I find it difficult to balance between party vs. individual when voting - I guess being in a fresh area will help me make a decision that's more balanced.

Sully

Deise Tom wrote: »

FG may be doing a lot of talk in Waterford, getting into the papers and on the Radio as often as possible, but how united as a party are they in Waterford (City, County & Town Councils), let alone in the island of Ireland

Not great, but its not a big issue. Your only looking at a general election, so two FG candidates (Paudie Coffey and John Deasy). Don't mind silly councillors who are mouthing off, nobody takes any notice of them generally. There elected to deal with local issues on the ground, and not have a go at everything and anything to get a bit of PR going for themselves in the hope of pulling a better vote in their next elections after scraping in prior. Besides, its only a handful all connected. Bickering aside, the party works very well.

FF shouldn't even be considered. Cullen was the only decent FF TD for Waterford here. Kenneally has done nothing, just starve us of a bye-election by voting against it in the Dail. Even when Cullen left, he didn't fill in the boots. Their party wrecked this country, time for a change nationally and across the board.

Deise Tom

Sully wrote: »

Not great, but its not a big issue. Your only looking at a general election, so two FG candidates (Paudie Coffey and John Deasy).

Not only do these two appear to be on different sides of the Wall at times, but they appear to be at total different ends of a very long wall.

Sully

Deise Tom wrote: »

Not only do these two appear to be on different sides of the Wall at times, but they appear to be at total different ends of a very long wall.

Who cares? They work together when needed, always have and always will. Its not whats important.

No point slurring the FG candidates just to move the heat from FF. They have done effectively nothing for Waterford and nationally screwed us over. Time for a change.

Deise Tom

Sully wrote: »

Who cares? They work together when needed, always have and always will. Its not whats important.

No point slurring the FG candidates just to move the heat from FF. They have done effectively nothing for Waterford and nationally screwed us over. Time for a change.

What has FG or Lab done for Waterford any time they were in Power.

wfman

John Deasy or Paudie Coffey if elected wont be sitting at the cabinet table.if labour are in with fg neither will Brian o Shea if elected.
not looking good for waterford.

Deise Tom

wfman wrote: »

John Deasy or Paudie Coffey if elected wont be sitting at the cabinet table.if labour are in with fg neither will Brian o Shea if elected.
not looking good for waterford.

Would have thought that Brian O'Shea would have a good chance.

wfman

Im pretty sure Brian o shea in his prime when he topped the poll in waterford was a junior minister.At 66 i think this would be his last outing.He'd be 71 at the next general election.
The only way o'shea is getting a seat at the cabinet is if labour have the numbers to form a goverment which wont happen.

deise blue

There seems to be a view that Labour have no policies , this is nonsense - I would refer people to www.labour.ie and then click on " our ideas "

Sully

Deise Tom wrote: »

What has FG or Lab done for Waterford any time they were in Power.

Ill talk with you when you can talk without your FF hat on, as usual.

As for ministerial positions - in the future, you should see Coffey sooner rather then later. Deasy wasn't appointed a seat ages ago because he doesn't get on with the leader of the party and smoking in the Dail never helped either. So if FG are going to be in power, and it looks like it, then voting for Coffey would be better for Waterford in the long run.

The two TDs on FF from Waterford, only one of them was ever any good for Waterford. It takes time.

wfman

coffey as a minister.sure he hasnt been elected.coffee was fancied for by election but your looking at a GE now.
Deasy will still poll higher then him in a GE.
coffee first elected in the locals in 1999,cant see him as a minister any time soon.

Sully

deise blue wrote: »

There seems to be a view that Labour have no policies , this is nonsense - I would refer people to www.labour.ie and then click on " our ideas "

Most people in politics would feel Labours politics are worth nothing. When you look into the policies, they are weak and vague. Sinn Feins policies are worse, by far, and don't even add up or make economic sense. They have ideas Labour, but wont spell them out and thats what has people concerned and not trusting them. Gilmore is great for the talking, but his party have not even been scrutinized by the media.

deise blue

Sully wrote: »

Most people in politics would feel Labours politics are worth nothing. When you look into the policies, they are weak and vague. Sinn Feins policies are worse, by far, and don't even add up or make economic sense. They have ideas Labour, but wont spell them out and thats what has people concerned and not trusting them. Gilmore is great for the talking, but his party have not even been scrutinized by the media.

Nonsense , the policies are many and spelt out in great detail .

As I said they are on the website for all to see.

As for people not trusting them - check the polls.

Deise Tom

wfman wrote: »

Im pretty sure Brian o shea in his prime when he topped the poll in waterford was a junior minister.At 66 i think this would be his last outing.He'd be 71 at the next general election.
The only way o'shea is getting a seat at the cabinet is if labour have the numbers to form a goverment which wont happen.

Whats age got to do with anything. Surely its the best people that should be at the cabinet table regarless if you are 21 or 71.

I have an sneeky view that if (some might say when) Labour and Fine Gael form the next government, that it wont last the full five years. Has any government in which either have been involved lasted a full term in the past. I dont think they have and dont think it will happen again in the future as people will see that the labour/Trade Union combination are responsible for a lot of the mess we are in. Edwina Curry was right last night on the Brendan O'Connor show when she said that people should stand up to the unions.

Deise Tom

Sully wrote: »

Ill talk with you when you can talk without your FF hat on, as usual.

As for ministerial positions - in the future, you should see Coffey sooner rather then later. Deasy wasn't appointed a seat ages ago because he doesn't get on with the leader of the party and smoking in the Dail never helped either. So if FG are going to be in power, and it looks like it, then voting for Coffey would be better for Waterford in the long run.

The two TDs on FF from Waterford, only one of them was ever any good for Waterford. It takes time.

What has Deasy and Kenny not getting on to do with the question i asked. What have FG or LAB done for Waterford in the past when they were in power.

Deise Tom

Sully wrote: »

Most people in politics would feel Labours politics are worth nothing. When you look into the policies, they are weak and vague. Sinn Feins policies are worse, by far, and don't even add up or make economic sense. They have ideas Labour, but wont spell them out and thats what has people concerned and not trusting them. Gilmore is great for the talking, but his party have not even been scrutinized by the media.

Guess that is why some people say they have views on everything but the solution to nothing. It is easy to come out with the populice crap they come out with at times but they seldom if ever come out with solutions.

Junior

Electing Deasy is like electing a lame duck. He has no confidence of the party hierarchy. I don't think he's going to work his way back, it would probably take a change of leadership for that to happen. We don't have credible alternatives here in Waterford, just like the rest of the country.

Deise Tom

Junior wrote: »

Electing Deasy is like electing a lame duck. He has no confidence of the party hierarchy. I don't think he's going to work his way back, it would probably take a change of leadership for that to happen. We don't have credible alternatives here in Waterford, just like the rest of the country.

Thats not going to happen is it, now that Enda is himself. I dont know who he was before he said he was going to be himself. And as he tells us, all the party are now behind him. And we all believe him. Who would we be to dispute what he says. Up hands who does believe him.

MoodRacer

Sully wrote: »

Most people in politics would feel Labours politics are worth nothing. When you look into the policies, they are weak and vague. Sinn Feins policies are worse, by far, and don't even add up or make economic sense. They have ideas Labour, but wont spell them out and thats what has people concerned and not trusting them. Gilmore is great for the talking, but his party have not even been scrutinized by the media.

Sully, can you expand a little on your opinion that Sinn Feins policies are worse by far and don`t even add up pls?

I would argue that if you consider the result in Donegal on Friday, SF & Lab are on the up whereas FG dropped 5% in their 1st prefs. How do you account for that pal?

deise blue

Deise Tom wrote: »

Whats age got to do with anything. Surely its the best people that should be at the cabinet table regarless if you are 21 or 71.

I have an sneeky view that if (some might say when) Labour and Fine Gael form the next government, that it wont last the full five years. Has any government in which either have been involved lasted a full term in the past. I dont think they have and dont think it will happen again in the future as people will see that the labour/Trade Union combination are responsible for a lot of the mess we are in. Edwina Curry was right last night on the Brendan O'Connor show when she said that people should stand up to the unions.

Labour have nothing to do with the mess we are in currently - they were not in power.

The Banks , Developers and FF are the guilty parties.

jad2007

Sorry Guys, Fairly new to boards so forgive my ignorance. Somebody told me that some of the mods on the Waterford forum are active members of a political party. Just wondering if that is true?? I reckon that if a mod is a member of a party they should make that clear if they are moderating a political thread. I would appreciate some clarification on this.

Sully

Deise Tom wrote: »

What has Deasy and Kenny not getting on to do with the question i asked. What have FG or LAB done for Waterford in the past when they were in power.

Deasy was elected in the 2000 General Election and given a front bench position for Waterford. Brian O'Shea, a fair bit longer. Neither FG or Labour have bene in power the length FF have, whereby they had two TDs for Waterford and only one was any good. Their achievements - both candidates, especially O'Shea who I see as an excellent individual and a fantastic TD, have done a lot for people on a personal level. Neither were in power long enough to bring any real change to Waterford. Its very unfair to ask what they have done nationally.

Deise Tom wrote: »

Thats not going to happen is it, now that Enda is himself. I dont know who he was before he said he was going to be himself. And as he tells us, all the party are now behind him. And we all believe him. Who would we be to dispute what he says. Up hands who does believe him.

What?

MoodRacer wrote: »

Sully, can you expand a little on your opinion that Sinn Feins policies are worse by far and don`t even add up pls?

Id prefer to give a decent response, but my complaint would be in regards to their economic policies. Ill explain why when I get a bit more time to explain it, hopefully later or tommorrow.

I would argue that if you consider the result in Donegal on Friday, SF & Lab are on the up whereas FG dropped 5% in their 1st prefs. How do you account for that pal?

Are you seriously refering to one election in an area where the SF candidate brought the government to court to get the election and got a huge amount of media attention? He wont do that well in the general election. Bye Elections and General Elections do not give a clear indication as to a GE result.

SF are not even doing that great in opinion polls to indicate a similar ripple across the electorate throughout Ireland. Locally, the big question is can Cullinane actually do it this time. Its a tough battle and I am not sure SF has room in Waterford.

jad2007 wrote: »

Sorry Guys, Fairly new to boards so forgive my ignorance. Somebody told me that some of the mods on the Waterford forum are active members of a political party. Just wondering if that is true?? I reckon that if a mod is a member of a party they should make that clear if they are moderating a political thread. I would appreciate some clarification on this.

I assume its because your new and on short of wearing a badge, I am the only mod who has never hidden or pretended not to be involved within any party. Its fairly well known whos who etc and about my own involvement. I cant comment for the other mods, they don't get into the political discussion online much

MoodRacer

Sully wrote: »

Id prefer to give a decent response, but my complaint would be in regards to their economic policies. Ill explain why when I get a bit more time to explain it, hopefully later or tommorrow.
Are you seriously refering to one election in an area where the SF candidate brought the government to court to get the election and got a huge amount of media attention? He wont do that well in the general election. Bye Elections and General Elections do not give a clear indication as to a GE result.

Ok, tks. Looking forward to your response. Of course SF got bounce from the court case, that goes without saying. However that does not accout for FG dropping 5%. There appears to be a swing to the left. Kenny must have been disappointed as he cancelled an appearence in the count centre that evening.

Sully

MoodRacer wrote: »

Ok, tks. Looking forward to your response. Of course SF got bounce from the court case, that goes without saying. However that does not accout for FG dropping 5%. There appears to be a swing to the left. Kenny must have been disappointed as he cancelled an appearence in the count centre that evening.

I canvassed Donegal, and the candidate wasn't very well received from the people. I expect that will change in the GE when the current TD runs and the vote wont be low. I don't think many in FG expected him to win, and probably not the candidate himself either. Second isn't a bad place all the same!

savic04

FF should never ever be back in power, If they get 1% of the votes it's too much for them.


To be honest, Waterford politics and politicians are a bit of a joke, and nationally are seen as irrelevant anyway..


Cullen did just as much damage as good for Waterford over the years

Gardner

jesus sully if u canvassed donegal and your of the opinion that coffey will be a minister.

god help us all!!



to the soup kitchens!

Sully

Gardner wrote: »

jesus sully if u canvassed donegal and your of the opinion that coffey will be a minister.

god help us all!!



to the soup kitchens!

I canvassed for Coffey and the reception I got on the doors was great, which is why I have stronger faith then Donegal candidate. Regardless of leader.

I do believe, and I am not saying when, that Coffey will be made minister in a FG lead government. It seems a given, as it stands anyway, that Deasy wont be made a minister. Whether this will change under a new leader, who knows.

Just my personal view, and you disagree. Neither of us know for certain.

Deise Tom

Sully wrote: »

I canvassed for Coffey and the reception I got on the doors was great, which is why I have stronger faith then Donegal candidate. Regardless of leader.

I do believe, and I am not saying when, that Coffey will be made minister in a FG lead government. It seems a given, as it stands anyway, that Deasy wont be made a minister. Whether this will change under a new leader, who knows.

Just my personal view, and you disagree. Neither of us know for certain.

Getting a good reception on the door steps does not mean that people will vote for you. Getting about 7000 first preference votes less that Pierce Doherty and 1000 less than Brian O Domhnaill must show this.

Gardner

Sully wrote: »

I canvassed for Coffey and the reception I got on the doors was great, which is why I have stronger faith then Donegal candidate. Regardless of leader.

I do believe, and I am not saying when, that Coffey will be made minister in a FG lead government. It seems a given, as it stands anyway, that Deasy wont be made a minister. Whether this will change under a new leader, who knows.

Just my personal view, and you disagree. Neither of us know for certain.

oh i disagree all right. think we will leave it at that before u suggest something else.....

MoodRacer

Sully wrote: »

Id prefer to give a decent response, but my complaint would be in regards to their economic policies. Ill explain why when I get a bit more time to explain it, hopefully later or tommorrow.

Well Sully. Are you caught in the snow somewhere??:D

Sully

MoodRacer wrote: »

Well Sully. Are you caught in the snow somewhere??:D

Yeah, indoors. I haven't forgotten, I just don't have a huge amount of time to dedicate towards this as I work from home but I will before the end of the week.

jmcc

I guess I forgot to vote in the 2000 general election , Sully,
Seriously though, there seems to be a polarisation of the electorate going on and I think that FG may suffer as the 'Up Mayo' faction seems to be a mirror image of FF. Labour is being smart but the ones to watch in all this are Sinn Fein. At the worst, people may just consider Labour to be FF lite and the decision of Labour not to run a second candidate in Waterford (if the news is correct) is braindead. There's a chance for FG and Labour to take two seats each but one of them, at least, will be a temporary one-Dail seat. The big mistake FG made the last time was in running D'Arcy (another school teacher as if politics hasn't enough of them). They should have put all their effort behind Deasy and Coffey.

Regards...jmcc

ROCKMAN

When the general election does come around , I'm thinking of putting a nice big sign in my front door window,


FF CANDIDATES ,CAMPAIGNERS OR LEAFLETS
ARE NOT WELCOME
PLEASE PISS OFF
THANK YOU...


I may have to listen to their **** on TV ..I dont have to on my own doorstep.

Smiley Burnett

Deise Tom wrote: »

What has Deasy and Kenny not getting on to do with the question i asked. What have FG or LAB done for Waterford in the past when they were in power.

The next time you are in Dungarvan go and take a good look at the GSK plant!! Delivered by Austin Deasy.

The next time you are in WRH take a look around you!! Delivered by Austin Deasy

jumpedupjohn

"I do believe, and I am not saying when, that Coffey will be made minister in a FG lead government. It seems a given, as it stands anyway, that Deasy wont be made a minister. Whether this will change under a new leader, who knows". (SULLY)

I'm in agreement with Sully on this, Coffey will be made a Junior Minister at the very least. Waterford county gave the second highest vote to FG in local elections of 2009 with first place being Mayo of course. What is needed in Waterford is for FG HQ to recognise that the FG leader and front bench are supported in Waterford.(By all FG elected members) I wish elected members would remember that it's not about their personal feelings but that they represent the county....us! Enda Kenny will lead the next government whether we like that or not so let's get on with trying to get the best deal for the county. Coffey will do extremely well in GE and I feel Deasy is threathened by this. Deasy is basically a bored back bencher with a thirst for power but realises Coffey is going to be the main FG man in Waterford.

Deise Tom

Paudie Coffey should be elected a TD next time round, but if he is made a Minister or Junior Minister almost straight away, would it cause some ill feeling amongst other FG TD's, especially as some of them are there quite a while and would be expecting to be in the front bench or very close to it.

Also the likely hood is that someone will be with them more than likely Labour and they will want their portion of Ministers and Junior Ministers as well, reducing the amount of options that Enda has of trying to keep everyone happy, especially those that voted for him in the heave during the year.

jumpedupjohn

It has been the case over the last number of governments to strategically place Ministers not according to their ability but according to geography. You may have a great number of TD's in the Dublin region but this does not mean Minister positions will go to one region or go to someone just because they are around a long time. But regardless, if the Waterford electorate respond to FG as they did in the local election then they will have to be rewarded and with only two deputies who will FG select? The guy that has been a very deliberate thorn in the side of the leader of FG or the other guy, the one that supports the leader of the party? So yeah, I really think Coffey will be a Junior Minister in the next government.

....Unless that is of course O'Shea demands a seat at the front bench... Chairman of the Labour Party, colleague of Gilmore, last opportunity prior to retirement, the very man capable to preventing any other Labour candidate from going forward.....I could see that being the only reason why no FG deputy will be acknowledged.

Flyin Irishman

ROCKMAN wrote: »

When the general election does come around , I'm thinking of putting a nice big sign in my front door window,


FF CANDIDATES ,CAMPAIGNERS OR LEAFLETS
ARE NOT WELCOME
PLEASE PISS OFF
THANK YOU...


I may have to listen to their **** on TV ..I dont have to on my own doorstep.

I was feeling the same way, but now Im not sure. I've started to think that no matter who gets elected, theyre gonna have more of a mess than they can clean up, so Im wondering is it better to put FF back in and make them clean up their own mess, cause if they walk now then theyve gotten away with it! Although there is the tremendous risk that they would just make it worse....