Irish General Election - Friday, November 29th *Read OP for Mod Warnings*

HalloweenJack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122860995#Comment_122860995

That's exactly my point. I can't think of any (wind energy perhaps?) but I'm not an elected official and its not my responsibility.

Previous Governments have been happy to take all the foreign money flowing into the country but I can't think of when that was invested in actually developing any industries here so that we're not forever relying on foreign investment.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861050#Comment_122861050

Why is it the responsibility of an elected official to run a business?

Is there any country the size of Ireland with a substantial indigenous industry competing on even an EU scale?

Lithuania? Estonia? Malta? We have Ryanair, Primark, Smurfits etc. originating in Ireland, but long outgrowing Ireland. Denmark have Lego.

HalloweenJack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861084#Comment_122861084

Where did I say they should be running companies?

They should be creating an economic environment so that Irish companies can grow and compete nationally, at least, with the MNCs that we depend so much on in the hope of removing ourself from such over-reliance.

The example to follow is the Nordic countries (Norway not so much because they won the lottery). Finland is a country with a comparable history and population size. They have done a lot to develop shipbuilding and forestry, for example.

There's no reason why we can't identify industries and develop them. Ryanair is a good example. Kerrygold has dairy, that and the agricultural sector could be developed, even alcohol, forestry, sea-related industries. These are things we don't rely on FDI for so there should be more focus from the Government on developing and encouraging them, especially with all the money coming in.

When we were in the Celtic Tiger, Estonia and Lithuania were still recovering from the collapse of the Soviet Union. We had a massive headstart on them. Malta is a tiny island. I don't think that works for them is a model we need to follow.

Seathrun66

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122860978#Comment_122860978

FF and FG are quite close on economic and other policies but differ on rural affairs and taxation. They really should be one party at this stage. The Greens are very different and are in this coalition as some have forgotten. The other poster's claim that all parties entering coalitions are the same is clearly absurd.

Mr. teddywinkles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122859752#Comment_122859752

Yep economy doing well. Big business doing well. Average joe. That debatable.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861194#Comment_122861194

To be fair, you say Ryanair is a good example. It is twice the market cap of Finland's biggest forestry company.

Nokia was obviously Finland's biggest success albeit it not what it once was and it is broadly the same market cap as Ryanair.

Many of our nominally Irish companies such as Irish Distillers are now owned by foreign conglomerates anyway - so its hard to see the real difference between those and MNCs. Indeed Smurfit-Westrock, much bigger than any forestry company in Finland, is still nominally based in Ireland but this is the nature of international business.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861308#Comment_122861308

I think that is the point. Once you create a multinational company out of Ireland - Ryanair, Kerrygold, Primark, Smurfit, Guinness, etc. - they just become too big for Ireland. That is the way of globalisation.

Nokia is a another good example. Imagine if Nokia had been Irish and we had tied all our hopes to that, we would be in right trouble now. We do have a similar at risk situation with Intel, but at least we can attract another MNC if they run into deep trouble.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122860835#Comment_122860835

Cost of living is worse than ever.

I assume you were born after the 1980s?

18% unemployment and 20% inflation.

The early to mid 90s weren't great either.

That's before we even get onto the conservative dominance of the church.

People saying Ireland is worse than ever, either have short memories or they grew in a time where Ireland wasn't the worst ever.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861488#Comment_122861488

There wasn't a housing problem in Ireland from the 1950s to the 1980s because everybody just emigrated. Families torn apart was the norm.

paddyisreal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861488#Comment_122861488

you could buy a house in the 80s and not be competing with your local county council or foreign investment funds driving up the prices. you could also get a bed in a hospital if you were sick. you also didnt have rampant crime in every town in the country. you also didnt have the country being flooded with illegal immigrants on the take. so some things in the 80s were a lot better than they are now.

rdser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861488#Comment_122861488

No, i was born in the early 70s....and remember the 80s very well.

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861770#Comment_122861770

No instead of being a country that people want to live in, and immigrate to, we were a country no-one wanted to come and live in and a massive amount of people were forced to/wanted to emigrate.

Rose tinted glasses are very rosé

suvigirl

Had my first candidate call to the house today, young woman, first time candidate. I was impressed by her. Soc Dems.

Be interesting to see how many actually call, for the locals the only one that called was the local Sinn Fein candidate.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862081#Comment_122862081

Unless you're in the house 24/7 you're going to miss some in person canvassers. Nobody has the time to tick off a list and attempt re-visits til they get people like they did in the 80s and 90s anymore. If there's a canvassing card - a leaflet not delivered with other mass mail and not personally addressed - they probably came around when you were out.

I've only had FF and Labour around and haven't had any canvassing cards from any others either.

I'm in a five seater so the chances of them getting everywhere are even lower than in a 3 or 4

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862131#Comment_122862131

Oh there's been plenty just throw the leaflet in the letterbox, even when I've been home.

Id expect a few more knocks on the door for a general election, then the locals hopefully.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861770#Comment_122861770

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862031#Comment_122862031

The 1980s were beyond grim.

If ye are yearning back to that time period ye were either extremely privileged growing up ye are having me on.

If yer lives are worse now that they were back then ye have severely mis stepped along the way or had some unfortunate luck.

harryharry25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862142#Comment_122862142

Would whatever someone told you at the door be it the candidate themselves or someone just out canvassing for them, really change your mind or devise on who your voting for?

Any issues you bring up with them, they will just promise the sun moon and stars anyway

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122861488#Comment_122861488

Its not worse than ever but its heading for a serious crash.

The Govt have squandered the huge Corporation tax windfall, this is what is propping the country up.

All the eggs are in one basket.

If Trump reduces the US Corp Tax rate to 15% as he proposes, Ireland is in serious trouble.

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862155#Comment_122862155

Every party has their manifesto and policies which would be the first thing I study, but actually meeting the candidate and being able to speak to them face to face definitely has an impact, on me anyway.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862142#Comment_122862142

I'd expect less - fewer candidates in total, bigger areas, some people vote more on national issues/manifestos.

SF ran eight candidates in the locals across my constituency, versus two for the Dáil. Soc Dems 5 vs 1, Greens 5 vs1 Labour 4 vs 1, FF 7 vs 2, FG 7 vs 3.

Those 5:1 ratio candidates need to cover 5x the number of doors and they are not guaranteed to have the local door knockers that the council candidates had. In the Soc Dems case, they appear to have fallen out hugely over who got to run, and one has left the party to run against them while most of the others don't appear to be doing any campaigning at all for the candidate.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862160#Comment_122862160

If Trump reduces the US Corp Tax rate to 15% as he proposes, Ireland is in serious trouble.

Why?

Our rate is still lower than that.

They reduced their tax rate before from 35% to 21%, a 14% drop.

Investment from USA companies grew exponentially here.

Fairly remedial to think that the US companies will pull out of Ireland after investing and continuing to invest billions here to move back to America to pay a higher tax rate with the associated relocating costs, which will be astronomical especially when you consider Trump will be putting up hefty barriers to trade or claims he will at least.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862197#Comment_122862197

Irish rate is 15% for large corporations.

Alot of the money flowing through Ireland is merely book keeping, it can be moved anywhere pretty easily.

Obviously Pharma companies are different but the likes of Apple and Google etc can be moved easily.

rdser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862151#Comment_122862151

Ya I don't need a history lesson. There is far more to society than revenue and jobs...a lot more. A lot of people may have more money but are equally as poor.

Your "It's not as bad as the 80s" diatribe just shows your arrogance, ignorance of people's current situations and the usual nonsense that passes for political commentary from FF and FG supporters.

tarvis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122860995#Comment_122860995

fishing. Sugar. Horticulture

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862204#Comment_122862204

Ya I don't need a history lesson

You most certainly do, but you are unwilling or unable to accept the 1980s, financially and socially were beyond grim for the majority in Ireland.

ignorance of people's current situations and the usual nonsense that passes for political commentary from FF and FG supporters.

LOL. I don't support either and haven't decided on who to vote yet in the upcoming election.

Who will you be supporting yourself?

I have an idea.

paddyisreal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862151#Comment_122862151

I said somethings we're better so stop trying to equate that to yearning for the 80s . It was a comment on housing, crime and healthcare and how it is worse than it was back then.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862202#Comment_122862202

Which companies have indicted that they are considering moving back to Trumps vision of America?

Also "easily" is relative extremely relative.

Podge_irl

There is absolutely no metric by which people are "equally as poor" as in the 80s. Zero.

paddyisreal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862065#Comment_122862065

Please tell me what I said was wrong ?

Everyone had a house to call their own in the 80s

Crime was no where near as bad as it is now

Our hospitals were ran much better than they are now.

Our immigration policy is a joke

These are all facts.

Yes emigration occured in an economic downturn the same as it did numerous times in our history. We were always a country of emigration

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862298#Comment_122862298

Crime nowhere near as bad - do you actually remember the 80s?

Break-ins, joyriding, tyre slashing, cash in transit jobs, heroin dealing, arson were rampant in the 80s. Bus and trains were routinely vandalised to almost unusable levels. Trains would end up with smashed windows weekly on the Maynooth services, which considering there was about 1/10th of the current number of services is some going.

That's before we get on to the systemic child abuse that was happening in religious, educational and medical institutions at the time.