Why Is FG ahead in the poles??

gsxr1

They wont change any of the banking balls ups of our current Government.

Why dont these voters just vote FF back in?

Its crazy. More of the same on the way.

jaffa20

Probably won't be as corrupt though. The same with Labour.

dlofnep

Why would they vote FF back in? I don't see FG as a good alternative, but at least they are not responsible for the current woes. FG won't get my vote, but FF won't get it X 2.

Monty Burnz

You scratch the skin of anyone who says 'they are all as bad as each other' and underneath there is a Fianna Failure looking for an excuse to vote for the guys who bankrupted the country.

gsxr1

So its a revenge vote.

Replace like for like. With a few small adjustments.

I am undecided by the way.

Wide Road

Monty Burnz wrote: »

You scratch the skin of anyone who says 'they are all as bad as each other' and underneath there is a Fianna Failure looking for an excuse to vote for the guys who bankrupted the country.

No such party exists.
He is making a valid point.

questionmark?

gsxr1 wrote: »

They wont change any of the banking balls ups of our current Government.

Why dont these voters just vote FF back in?

Its crazy. More of the same on the way.

So who should we vote for then going by Your assessment of FG?

oppenheimer1

Its "Polls" OP

Rabble Rabble

FG sound like they would be tough on the bondholders.

Anyway what do you people want - socialism, fascism, boards.ieism?

sesna

Monty Burnz wrote: »

You scratch the skin of anyone who says 'they are all as bad as each other' and underneath there is a Fianna Failure looking for an excuse to vote for the guys who bankrupted the country.

Heard Niamh Lyons on TV3 tonight say that people should vote back in FF, because they've made their mistakes and "Better the devil you know". I despair, no wonder the country is bankrupt and being run by the IMF

ingen

i dont think FG have a clue, and arnt they all for selling off state assets?

i dont think they have a clue, so they wont be getting my vote, either will the greens or FF..

very limited choice...............

gsxr1

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

Its "Polls" OP

Please excuse the typo. Spell checker F fail

Wide Road

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

Its "Polls" OP

What?

Wide Road

gsxr1 wrote: »

Please excuse the typo. Spell checker F fail

What?

Riskymove

Wide Road wrote: »

What?

where?

exspes

Most people have one or two word descriptions in their head of parties and generally vote accordingly. For example FG "the others" FF "the *****" Labour "useless" Green Party "the ******s" or "our savior" depending on preference and sinn fein "the boys" or "****ing morons" depending on your preference (these are not my views on various parties, this is me thinking of buzzwords to describe them based on how i think the general public views them).

Most people don't vote by thinking 'well what would be best for the country' the vote out of loyalty, habit, historical factors (their parents, grandparents so on) and these buzzwords that are associated with various political factions or quite often the old 'what will they do for me' mentality which is how this fiasco got so far to begin with.

So to answer the OP, that's why they're ahead in the polls. People saying 'well i won't vote for fianna fail because they messed things up so i'll vote for fine geal' as they fall into the 'haven't done anything bad lately' category.

Pete_Cavan

ingen wrote: »

i dont think FG have a clue, and arnt they all for selling off state assets?

Selling off state assets is a great idea. The government has no business producing electricity when private companies can do it cheaper. Why should we pay over the odds over electricity from a semi-state catel in market distorted by stupid levies? Sell off these assets, you receive the income from the sale and remove the cost of maintaining them. It also reduces the cost of electricity by breaking up a state monopoly and opening the market up to competition. FG are the only party with a clue.

exspes

Dunno pete, lots of people said that in the UK in the 80's but they all whine about everything being privatized quite a bit :P must be some reasoning to it like

Liam Byrne

gsxr1 wrote: »

They wont change any of the banking balls ups of our current Government.

Why dont these voters just vote FF back in?

Its crazy. More of the same on the way.

Since you're saying "it's crazy. more of the same on the way", is it fair to suggest two things :

1) You don't want FG because (you believe) they're the same as FF
2) You obviously don't want FF in because they are the same as FF

So who do you suggest we vote for ?

And how would you suggest they "change any of the banking balls ups" ? As far as I can see, FF have ensured that cannot be reversed without making the solution worse than the original problem, because it would now be perceived as the country defaulting rather than the gambling rats who caused the mess.

So who are you suggesting as an alternative ?

And what about those of us who want a roughly centre-right party but just don't want the corruption and blatant unrestricted capitalism ?

Pete_Cavan

exspes wrote: »

Dunno pete, lots of people said that in the UK in the 80's but they all whine about everything being privatized quite a bit :P must be some reasoning to it like

The state assets FG want to sell off are in energy production, such as ESB International, ESB PowerGen & Supply and Bord Gais. They will retain the national grid in state ownership. This way you create a competitive market whereby companies compete on the price of electricity alone (because it is still transmitted through the same network so those costs dont change). The private companies pay the government for the maintenance and upgrade of the national grid.

The current situation is a mess. ESB prices are kept artificially high to encourage people to switch to Bord Gais or Airtricity to give the illusion of competition. Basically ESB customers are being over-charged and the taxpayer is subsidising the cost of electricity from Bord Gais in order to break up ESBs monopoly but there are no advantages to removing this monopoly because any savings in the cost of electricity are canceled out by the subsidies you are paying for through taxes. At least in an open market competition forces producers to become efficient because the only way they will gain customers is by reducing their prices.

State-guaranteed monopoly-status means that the consumer's interests do not count. These companies have NO incentive to improve the quality of their services or reduce their prices because no matter how annoyed the consumer gets with them there's no escape from them. They can't seek refuge from appalling service or high prices by choosing another company. Similarly with broadband, FG want the state to own the network (fibre cables etc.) but private companies offer the broadband packages.

snubbleste

Maybe they are targeting the eastern european vote?

Duke Leonal Felmet

sesna wrote: »

Heard Niamh Lyons on TV3 tonight say that people should vote back in FF, because they've made their mistakes and "Better the devil you know". I despair, no wonder the country is bankrupt and being run by the IMF

Yes I agree, because the opinion of a single citizen is certainly representative of the entire population.

Dymo

sesna wrote: »

Heard Niamh Lyons on TV3 tonight say that people should vote back in FF, because they've made their mistakes and "Better the devil you know". I despair, no wonder the country is bankrupt and being run by the IMF

Shes always been anti Fine Gael and very anti Enda Kenny with everything she writes and anytime she's on a panel takes a pro FF stance.

wolfpawnat

Because the Irish public can be idiotic. My MIL is convinced they are going to cap Public sector pay at €100,000 (where she got that idea I will never know) and that they are all about the people She then goes on the phone to her friends and swears that FG said these things and it spreads like wildfire and none of it is true!

Because if your not left wing there is no other right or center right option

HivemindXX

The ESB makes money for the government so that part of your argument doesn't apply.

A policy of flogging off all the state assets with no thought is short sighted in the extreme. Luckily we already have the worked example of Eircom. This was a massive giveaway of our money to the select few wealthy investors who made large profits. Converting a state owned virtual monopoly to a privately owned one didn't result in the lower prices free market fantasists would claim but instead resulted in the screws being turned on the customers in the shape of massive line rental increase.

It's common for people to say the state has no place operating services like that and that free market companies will always do a better job. Eircom proves this wrong. When brought up the usual counter claim is that the Eircom sell off was done badly and we won't make that mistake again. The fact is that phone service in Ireland is very expensive and our broadband is relatively poor. Private companies will do the minimum necessary to maximise their profits. The state can't force Eircom to lower line rentals or force companies to improve broadband provisions (although people frequently blame the government for this for some reason). If we still had a state owned phone company we could demand they implement changes and the private companies would have to keep up.

20Cent

Just a question about privatising the ESB.
Isn't it widely known that using less electricity is better for the environment? There are campaigns etc to encourage people to use less electricity. How would a private company do this, surely they would want people to use more to maximise profit?

exspes

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

The state assets FG want to sell off are in energy production, such as ESB International, ESB PowerGen & Supply and Bord Gais. They will retain the national grid in state ownership. This way you create a competitive market whereby companies compete on the price of electricity alone (because it is still transmitted through the same network so those costs dont change). The private companies pay the government for the maintenance and upgrade of the national grid.

The current situation is a mess. ESB prices are kept artificially high to encourage people to switch to Bord Gais or Airtricity to give the illusion of competition. Basically ESB customers are being over-charged and the taxpayer is subsidising the cost of electricity from Bord Gais in order to break up ESBs monopoly but there are no advantages to removing this monopoly because any savings in the cost of electricity are canceled out by the subsidies you are paying for through taxes. At least in an open market competition forces producers to become efficient because the only way they will gain customers is by reducing their prices.

State-guaranteed monopoly-status means that the consumer's interests do not count. These companies have NO incentive to improve the quality of their services or reduce their prices because no matter how annoyed the consumer gets with them there's no escape from them. They can't seek refuge from appalling service or high prices by choosing another company. Similarly with broadband, FG want the state to own the network (fibre cables etc.) but private companies offer the broadband packages.

Well to be honest the government owning the infrastructure of phones, broadband would be something i'd be greatly in favor of, removing the monopoly that is the ESB would also be great. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.

However my main problem with Fine Gael getting into office is after 5 years when they fail to provide stability to the country (and they will...it doesn't matter who is elected this is impossible for the foreseeable future) people will instantly re-elect fianna fail, where as if say Labour were elected with a handful of independents keeping their vote over 50% well we would have a voice for criticism in the dail in that independents have no loyalty to any party and (imo) tend to vote for what's best for their constituents, meaning no single party (and hence single agenda) has a majority voice in the dail, and when this imaginary coalition fails then people would still look at other parties such as FG.

I'm not saying FG will do a good job, or Labour or anyone else, they will all do bad jobs, but it's in our best interests to keep fianna fail out of government for as long as possible until they realize that they can't treat the people of this country this way and get away with it (as they have for the past 20 years) Having a long term government is a bad idea all round because it allows politicians to find the scams and loopholes that allow them and their mates (banks, lawyers, contractors, judges. ect.) to embezzle money and defraud the country of millions for personal gain (shell oilfields being an example of that) They can work these things out within months of taking office, after 5 years they'll have made a pretty penny and giving multiple terms to people who do this is just asking for financial crisis.

To quote Douglas Adams "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."

ednwireland

Duke Leonal Felmet wrote: »

Yes I agree, because the opinion of a single citizen is certainly representative of the entire population.

but this line is been spouted by FF commentators all over the media
and say it often enough people will beleive it (i watche dthat last night and had my head in my hands when she said that). there is a huge campaign of spin at the moment to say that because FF have been in power for 14 years they know what to do (considering the mess we are in thats rich)

honestly FG and LAB need to hammer the point home at every opportunity esp in the TV debates (as people seem to take notice of them dont ask me why ) that these people got us here and every wrong decision made but they seem incapable of getting into a down and dirty dogfight which is what it will be against FF.

to answer the OP's question FG are ahead because of the absolute mess FF have made of this country (now i have to get back to work to earn some cash to pay my USC)

catbear

Traditional Irish voters are motivated by what their candidate can do for them and then they are outraged when their elected TD helps themselves.

FG/FF are the one vehicle for this type of voter. Together they pretend they are different and take turns robbing everyone else. They are only interested in what's sustainable for the next five years.

FF votes are going to FG/SF out of self interest. If it's more than that then I'll believe it when I see it. Right now the moral indignation expressed isn't matched by marches and protests demanding Sean Fitzpatrick be brought to justice.

Liam Byrne

snubbleste wrote: »

Maybe they are targeting the eastern european vote?

Well Willie O'Dea's mug is ahead on the poles around here......he's on twice as many as FG, with two different posters, too!

Duke Leonal Felmet

ednwireland wrote: »

but this line is been spouted by FF commentators all over the media
and say it often enough people will beleive it (i watche dthat last night and had my head in my hands when she said that). there is a huge campaign of spin at the moment to say that because FF have been in power for 14 years they know what to do (considering the mess we are in thats rich)

honestly FG and LAB need to hammer the point home at every opportunity esp in the TV debates (as people seem to take notice of them dont ask me why ) that these people got us here and every wrong decision made but they seem incapable of getting into a down and dirty dogfight which is what it will be against FF.

to answer the OP's question FG are ahead because of the absolute mess FF have made of this country (now i have to get back to work to earn some cash to pay my USC)

What else do you expect FF to say? I assume they would like to win as many seats as they can.

Pete_Cavan

HivemindXX wrote: »

The ESB makes money for the government so that part of your argument doesn't apply.

A policy of flogging off all the state assets with no thought is short sighted in the extreme. Luckily we already have the worked example of Eircom. This was a massive giveaway of our money to the select few wealthy investors who made large profits. Converting a state owned virtual monopoly to a privately owned one didn't result in the lower prices free market fantasists would claim but instead resulted in the screws being turned on the customers in the shape of massive line rental increase.

It's common for people to say the state has no place operating services like that and that free market companies will always do a better job. Eircom proves this wrong. When brought up the usual counter claim is that the Eircom sell off was done badly and we won't make that mistake again. The fact is that phone service in Ireland is very expensive and our broadband is relatively poor. Private companies will do the minimum necessary to maximise their profits. The state can't force Eircom to lower line rentals or force companies to improve broadband provisions (although people frequently blame the government for this for some reason). If we still had a state owned phone company we could demand they implement changes and the private companies would have to keep up.

They f*cked up the privitisation of Eircom. If the government had split the network off from the retail arm of eircom prior to privatisation and kept it in public ownership it would allowed the state to lower line rentals, etc. This would have created an open market for others to compete in. FGs NewEra plans to keep the transmission networks in state ownership and private companies pay the state to use the network to sell their electricity or broadband. I would rather have the option of choosing who I pay my hard earned money to for electricity instead of paying over the odds to a state monopoly for the sake of left wing ideals.

jmayo

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

FG sound like they would be tough on the bondholders.

Anyway what do you people want - socialism, fascism, boards.ieism?

People want their cake and get to eat it as well.
Unfortunately they got cheese. :rolleyes:

exspes wrote: »

Dunno pete, lots of people said that in the UK in the 80's but they all whine about everything being privatized quite a bit :P must be some reasoning to it like

As Pete_cavan points out the kjey is to holding on to key infrastructure that shoudl remain in public ownership.
I have had many debates around here with a former Donegalfella about how certain things such as water, education, power and communications networks should not be privatised.

FG propose to privatise the generation and not the transmission AFAIK.

Again as pete_cavan points out this should have been done with Eircom.
If it was then the government could have rolled out broadband capabilities to all the little exchanges and then charge the suppliers to the end customers for it.
Instead we have been relying on Eircom, a private entity that is bust, to roll out broadband when they know they are helping their actual competition.

20Cent wrote: »

Just a question about privatising the ESB.
Isn't it widely known that using less electricity is better for the environment? There are campaigns etc to encourage people to use less electricity. How would a private company do this, surely they would want people to use more to maximise profit?

Ehh and where do you think the electricty is coming from ?
Coal, gas, oil are also fossil fuels.
Although I do recall some green party woman (???) once saying on radio that natural gas was a green energy, when she should have said it was a cleaner less polluting source of energy.

AFAIK at the moment ESB could sell us energy for less, but the regulator has forced them to seel at higher price in order to make it more attractive and feasible for others to compete.
The big laugh is, one of the biggest competitors to the ESB is yet another state owned entity Bord Gais. :rolleyes:
Could you make this sh** up ?

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Well Willie O'Dea's mug is ahead on the poles around here......he's on twice as many as FG, with two different posters, too!

I like to put his head on the top of a pole alright. :mad:
Preferably one with a big spike.

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

They f*cked up the privitisation of Eircom. If the government had split the network off from the retail arm of eircom prior to privatisation and kept it in public ownership it would allowed the state to lower line rentals, etc. This would have created an open market for others to compete in. FGs NewEra plans to keep the transmission networks in state ownership and private companies pay the state to use the network to sell their electricity or broadband. I would rather have the option of choosing who I pay my hard earned money to for electricity instead of paying over the odds to a state monopoly for the sake of left wing ideals.

Exactly.
Well said.

caseyann

The cuts that Fine Gael are proposing - the 30,000 reduction in the numbers of people who are employed by the public service - will impact on schools.

"It will mean taking teachers and special needs assistants out of schools, and the people who will lose as a result of that are children who will not get the support they need."


With this being in their manifesto,they wont be getting a look in from me or any of my family.
Isnt this the same or similar to what Fianna fail are doing and have done already?

Pete_Cavan

caseyann wrote: »

The cuts that Fine Gael are proposing - the 30,000 reduction in the numbers of people who are employed by the public service - will impact on schools.

"It will mean taking teachers and special needs assistants out of schools, and the people who will lose as a result of that are children who will not get the support they need."


With this being in their manifesto,they wont be getting a look in from me or any of my family.
Isnt this the same or similar to what Fianna fail are doing and have done already?

FF have introduced an across the board ban on taking on new staff, so those who retire are not replaced. FG will replace front line staff but not admin staff, many of whom are not necessary. They also plan to scrap 147 quangos, many of which can be merged into one department.

femur61

gsxr1 wrote: »

They wont change any of the banking balls ups of our current Government.

Why dont these voters just vote FF back in?

Its crazy. More of the same on the way.

Nepotism, corruption and croynism

analucija

caseyann wrote: »

The cuts that Fine Gael are proposing - the 30,000 reduction in the numbers of people who are employed by the public service - will impact on schools.

"It will mean taking teachers and special needs assistants out of schools, and the people who will lose as a result of that are children who will not get the support they need."


With this being in their manifesto,they wont be getting a look in from me or any of my family.
Isnt this the same or similar to what Fianna fail are doing and have done already?

In last ten years number of people in education increased and literacy and mats knowledge is getting worst compared to other countries. Obviously just employing more people didn't do the job and whole system has to be reformed.

FF has to be from government, they should not have that much of power over the decades anyway. FG is the only party with fairly credible and detailed plan and you don't get the feeling that numbers are plucked from the sky. And whoever thinks that there wont be redundancies or further wage cuts in public sector is an idiot. The same goes for people who think they won't be taxed more. Regardless of who is in power.

analucija

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

Irish people are stupid. They still think in Civil War politics. That's why FG are ahead in the polls. Irish people are just too scared of Labour because they are different, they suggest a left alternative and somehow people get too wound up by the fact that Labour have a historical relationship with the Unions. Its unfortunate but I think Irish people will never change - maybe it's the climate or something in the soil.

No they are not. Left wing policies work when you have money and they are a lot harder to implement if you don't. It's very hard to believe some of the labour promises for this election.

Duke Leonal Felmet

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

Irish people are stupid. They still think in Civil War politics. That's why FG are ahead in the polls. Irish people are just too scared of Labour because they are different, they suggest a left alternative and somehow people get too wound up by the fact that Labour have a historical relationship with the Unions. Its unfortunate but I think Irish people will never change - maybe it's the climate or something in the soil.

It is the very fact that Labour are so joined to the unions that people have a problem with them. They see the direct layoffs in the private sector and see none in the public sector because the unions hold the government to ransom and they think 'you know what, that stinks'.

Nothing to do with the civil war. Just about a sense of fairness.

jmayo

caseyann wrote: »

The cuts that Fine Gael are proposing - the 30,000 reduction in the numbers of people who are employed by the public service - will impact on schools.

"It will mean taking teachers and special needs assistants out of schools, and the people who will lose as a result of that are children who will not get the support they need."

Ah yes the usual sacred cows are dragged out.
You are forgetting nurses and guards. :rolleyes:

Where has FG said they want to cut teachers amd special needs ?
In fact they have said they do not want ot cut frontline staff.

Although in my opinion it would actually be no loss if we did lose some teachers, as from personal experience some of them are effing useless at their jobs.
But of course like a lot of the public service, their highly unionised nature means that firing incompetent people is impossible. :mad:

There are probably (I can't omment since don't know department well enough) sizable number of paper pushing jobs in Dept of Education that could be shelved with no apparent drop in standard of education.
Actually if anything it might improve. :rolleyes:

It is noticable how people in public sector always drag out the frontline staff whenever cuts are mooted. :rolleyes:

Of course it is more emotive with the public, but is it not also true that management together with the backend admin staff are always more permananent and have less contract or temporary staff to easily fire.
Well here is anovel idea, why not lay off some of the permanent ones and hang onto the temps who actualy do perform necessary forntline duties.

How about that for a solution ?

I charge that this ongoing situation of having temps/contracts in frontline is benefical to management and admin staffs continued immunity.

caseyann wrote: »

With this being in their manifesto,they wont be getting a look in from me or any of my family.
Isnt this the same or similar to what Fianna fail are doing and have done already?

Ah shure go on vote SF and/or Labour, they can continue the public sector spending and shure won't they tax the rich to fund it. :rolleyes:
Better still vote for ff. :rolleyes:

Killer Pigeon

Duke Leonal Felmet wrote: »

It is the very fact that Labour are so joined to the unions that people have a problem with them. They see the direct layoffs in the private sector and see none in the public sector because the unions hold the government to ransom and they think 'you know what, that stinks'.

Nothing to do with the civil war. Just about a sense of fairness.

1) Many public sector jobs are vital, e.g., teachers, nurses, doctors, certain areas of the civil service. Without them the country wouldn't function properly. Obvious there are some unnecessary positions, that's why Labour have proposed cutting 18,000 public sector jobs.
2) Does the word "Unions" just apply to public sector unions, however about private sector unions which Labour also have a historical relationship with?

LorcanN

People will vote fine gael bcuz they are the only party who wont increase income tax. a rise in income tax on the middle incomes, which all other parties want, will wipe out real income and totally destroy any sort of domestic demand for SMEs which is what will drive economic growth! also fine gael have quality politicians with integrity and are members of the largest european party given the huge strength to renegotiate the "bailout". (And the cuts in the public sector are vital, for every 16 people in ireland there is one civil servant this figure is closer to 70 in countries such as Canada who actually have efficient services)

caseyann

jmayo wrote: »

Ah yes the usual sacred cows are dragged out.
You are forgetting nurses and guards. :rolleyes:

Where has FG said they want to cut teachers amd special needs ?
In fact they have said they do not want ot cut frontline staff.

Although in my opinion it would actually be no loss if we did lose some teachers, as from personal experience some of them are effing useless at their jobs.
But of course like a lot of the public service, their highly unionised nature means that firing incompetent people is impossible. :mad:

There are probably (I can't omment since don't know department well enough) sizable number of paper pushing jobs in Dept of Education that could be shelved with no apparent drop in standard of education.
Actually if anything it might improve. :rolleyes:

It is noticable how people in public sector always drag out the frontline staff whenever cuts are mooted. :rolleyes:

Of course it is more emotive with the public, but is it not also true that management together with the backend admin staff are always more permananent and have less contract or temporary staff to easily fire.
Well here is anovel idea, why not lay off some of the permanent ones and hang onto the temps who actualy do perform necessary forntline duties.

How about that for a solution ?

I charge that this ongoing situation of having temps/contracts in frontline is benefical to management and admin staffs continued immunity.



Ah shure go on vote SF and/or Labour, they can continue the public sector spending and shure won't they tax the rich to fund it. :rolleyes:
Better still vote for ff. :rolleyes:

For the people who love their,so called dangerous breed dogs as the have been tagged, Labour wont be getting a look in from me either and fianna gael for being for stag hunting among one hundred other reasons will not be getting a look in,and you can roll your eyes at me all you want.Not going to make me feel belittled or wrong for voting Sinn Féin.:)
They are all twins of fianna fail.


The cuts that Fine Gael are proposing - the 30,000 reduction in the numbers of people who are employed by the public service - will impact on schools.

"It will mean taking teachers and special needs assistants out of schools, and the people who will lose as a result of that are children who will not get the support they need."


No country ever taxed its way back to recovery and Ireland will be no different. Fine Gael is the only Party which won’t have to raise income taxes unlike other parties. In contrast, Labour plans to increase the top rate of tax to 55%, introduce an annual recurring property tax on the family home and increase income taxes by €2,500 per year for families that have put their savings into investment properties (based on a €300,000 mortgage). On the other hand, Fianna Fáil’s plans to cut tax credits, pension reliefs and the standard rate band will impose another €1,470, or €28 a week, on a single-earner family earning €50,000 by 2014.


http://www.irishexaminer.com/election/news/gilmore-schools-will-suffer-under-proposed-fg-cuts-492821.html

Killer Pigeon

analucija wrote: »

No they are not. Left wing policies work when you have money and they are a lot harder to implement if you don't. It's very hard to believe some of the labour promises for this election.

It's not like FG aren't promising the moon and the stars either, why does every think that somehow there the saviours of the country? I find alot of what Enda says as complete hocus pocus, for instance is he honest when he say that he won't renegotiate the IMF/EU deal (remember he only came out with that a couple of hours after Gilmore did) and is he really going to deny Anglo-Irish the extra €15 billion (??) it apparently needs?

ednwireland

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

Irish people are stupid. They still think in Civil War politics. That's why FG are ahead in the polls. Irish people are just too scared of Labour because they are different, they suggest a left alternative and somehow people get too wound up by the fact that Labour have a historical relationship with the Unions. Its unfortunate but I think Irish people will never change - maybe it's the climate or something in the soil.

frank mcbrearty - thats why labour wont get my vote (and FG wont because dinny mcginley is their gombeen)

PeterIanStaker

Because they're the lesser of two eejits?

LorcanN

Irregardless of what you think constitutes middle income it dosnt change the fact that it will still massively hit already damaged domestic demand. And labour want to increase vat by 1 percent which is another tax policy which wud further damage the domestic market. Cuts and reform are the only way out of this mess not raises taxes of famillies on 100000 a year while leavin 55 percent of people out of the tax net.

liammur

gsxr1 wrote: »

So its a revenge vote.

Replace like for like. With a few small adjustments.

I am undecided by the way.

Even if FF were superior party, change is necessary. They have the boards of the central bank and regulators office stuffed with cronies to name but 2 boards. I can't see 1 reason why F should be back in power for at least 10 years.

Killer Pigeon

ednwireland wrote: »

frank mcbrearty - thats why labour wont get my vote (and FG wont because dinny mcginley is their gombeen)

Oh and you think that's a problem?

Does Pearse Doherty (gramophone of SF) lying about his education or SF and Gerry Adams lack of knowledge about the economy not faze you at all? Don't they have links with the IRA.

Or how about the Richard Boyd Barrett and ULA and their completely nonviable radical left policies? They want to default on our loans thus preventing Ireland from borrowing any loans in the future to pay for vital public projects and services.

Or FF and the Veggies and their complete screwing up of the country?

Or how about the Independents? Do you honestly think that a few independents are going to help solve our economic woes? All they will care about is their own local constituency issues and not national issues.

kincsem

analucija wrote: »

In last ten years number of people in education increased and literacy and mats knowledge is getting worst compared to other countries.

Proved.