Why is there no official residence of the Taoiseach

antimatterx · 25-05-2020 11:45PM #1

Why is there no official residence of the Taoiseach?

As leader of the country should the Taoiseach not be given a place to live. I know that they can use Stewards Lodge on Farmleigh Estate (they shouldn't have to pay €50 a night), but we should built an official residence.

It's a bit odd that Leo Varadkar lives in an apartment in Castleknock, and Enda Kenny had a Dublin apartment near Fenian Street.

CBear1993 · 25-05-2020 11:47PM

Leo was kicked out onto his ars* after he wasn’t voted back in in February. He’s also a caretaker Taoiseach as it stands.

PsychoPete · 25-05-2020 11:48PM

No , they should all have to live like the rest of us

Rodney Bathgate · 25-05-2020 11:48PM

CBear1993 wrote: »

Leo was kicked out onto his ars* after he wasn’t voted back in in February. He’s also a caretaker Taoiseach as it stands.

Still waiting for Mary Lou and her grand coalition to take over.

Guy:Incognito · 25-05-2020 11:49PM

I think it works fine tbh. One of them through the years could have put something together if they want so I assume theres never been a desire.

Youre not guaranteed a set time in office either. Most probably dont want to move their whole life somewhere sort term.
Luckily, we've never had the security issue of the Tasoiseach needing to be hidden away either.

CBear1993 · 25-05-2020 11:50PM

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

Still waiting for Mary Lou and her grand coalition to take over.

She’s not the right person to lead. Wouldn’t have her as head of SF at all.

antimatterx · 25-05-2020 11:50PM

CBear1993 wrote: »

Leo was kicked out onto his ars* after he wasn’t voted back in in February. He’s also a caretaker Taoiseach as it stands.

He's still the Taoiseach, and very well may be again over the life time of the next government.

Imagine Mary Lou as Taoiseach. The country would be bankrupt with her seemingly infinite money tree.

Guy:Incognito · 25-05-2020 11:51PM

CBear1993 wrote: »

Leo was kicked out onto his ars* after he wasn’t voted back in in February. He’s also a caretaker Taoiseach as it stands.

:rolleyes: here we go Facebook and twitter has spilled over to here. Why not throw a notmytaoiseach in there and have a rant about how you didnt vote for him as Taoiseach without acknowledging that the only people that actually vote for the person that becomes Taoiseach is the people in their constituency.

Cookie_Monster · 26-05-2020 02:18AM

What purpose would having an official residence serve?

Rodney Bathgate · 26-05-2020 08:31AM

CBear1993 wrote: »

She’s not the right person to lead. Wouldn’t have her as head of SF at all.

I thought it was clear that I was taking the piss...

biko · 26-05-2020 08:38AM

Give him a flat in Finglas and a leap card.
Once politicians lives like the rest of us they will make decisions for the rest of us.

hynesie08 · 26-05-2020 08:45AM

I'm going to ask what might be an ignorant question, but is the taoiseach still expected to act as a td in there elected area? If so no point electing a td in say Cork only to uproot them for the length of their term?

dundalkfc10 · 26-05-2020 08:48AM

CBear1993 wrote: »

She’s not the right person to lead. Wouldn’t have her as head of SF at all.

She was leader of Sinn Féin in the elections where they had the best result in near a century and is liked alot more than Leo or Martin by a large section of the youth in the country.

Terrible leader alright

rodDaly69 · 26-05-2020 08:52AM

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

She was leader of Sinn Féin in the elections where they had the best result in near a century and is liked alot more than Leo or Martin by a large section of the youth in the country.

Terrible leader alright

Populist.

dundalkfc10 · 26-05-2020 09:38AM

rodDaly69 wrote: »

Populist.

Ask yourself why, maybe because the working class concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.

That is Ireland in a nutshell.

26-05-2020 09:41AM

Why shouldn't they have to pay €50/night?

JohnnyFlash · 26-05-2020 09:43AM

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

:rolleyes: here we go Facebook and twitter has spilled over to here. Why not throw a notmytaoiseach in there and have a rant about how you didnt vote for him as Taoiseach without acknowledging that the only people that actually vote for the person that becomes Taoiseach is the people in their constituency.

Concannonbot

osarusan · 26-05-2020 09:46AM

I don't see the point of one.

If there had been one going back a century or so, then that would be fine, but there isn't, and there's no need for one now.

There are already plenty of places to entertain dignitaries and the like.

KaneToad · 26-05-2020 09:48AM

CBear1993 wrote: »

Leo was kicked out onto his ars* after he wasn’t voted back in in February. He’s also a caretaker Taoiseach as it stands.

He was the second elected candidate in his constituency. Not great for a sitting Taoiseach but far from being kicked out. This country is a FF voting country, except when $hit hits the fan - that's when FG get their chance. It was too soon for people to return to FF but they couldn't bring themselves to vote FG, hence the strong SF performance. It won't last. Next GE will be a stronger FF showing.

Sinn Fein received 24% of the national vote. 76% of the cast vote did not vote for Sinn Fein.

(Incidentally, I'm not a FF or FG supporter).

KaneToad · 26-05-2020 09:51AM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Concannonbot

Indeed ðŸ™„

He setup his account in 2003 and posted 35k times so that he could shill for FG...

26-05-2020 12:51PM

KaneToad wrote: »

He setup his account in 2003 and posted 35k times so that he could shill for FG...

Christ they play a long and devious game don't they :pac:

pwurple · 26-05-2020 12:54PM

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

Ask yourself why, maybe because the working class concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.

That is Ireland in a nutshell.

Working class concerns like employment, pension, education and healthcare is it?

Guy:Incognito · 26-05-2020 01:29PM

biko wrote: »

Give him a flat in Finglas and a leap card.
Once politicians lives like the rest of us they will make decisions for the rest of us.

I'd have thought getting a job and buying (i assume) or renting his own place was living like the rest of us? Isnt that the point of the thread?

titan18 · 26-05-2020 01:34PM

Cookie_Monster wrote:

What purpose would having an official residence serve?

What does it serve for the president? Taoiseach probably deserves one more than the president does for us.

Allinall · 26-05-2020 01:37PM

biko wrote: »

Give him a flat in Finglas and a leap card.
Once politicians lives like the rest of us they will make decisions for the rest of us.

The rest of us don't live in Finglas.

fly_agaric · 26-05-2020 01:44PM

antimatterx wrote: »

Why is there no official residence of the Taoiseach?

He's the Taoiseach, not the president (head of state).

Higgins is the president + gets the fancy official "gaff" even if he has no real power.

Having 2 people with large official residences like that would seem to be a massive waste of money for a very small country that is also democracy [vs a sort of tin-pot dictatorship].

It would annoy me (and lots of others I'm sure).

Redgirl82 · 26-05-2020 01:57PM

biko wrote: »

Give him a flat in Finglas and a leap card.
Once politicians lives like the rest of us they will make decisions for the rest of us.

Once your in fingles you can never get out, the leap card is a waste of time

Muahahaha · 26-05-2020 02:11PM

Well Farmleigh House is an official residence but he just chooses not to live there until now. Its fully set up for a Taoiseach to live there and handle foreign guests.

Bertie Ahern paid IR£23m for Farmleigh back in 1999. Him and Fianna Fail basically used it for after hours piss ups when they got kicked out of the Dail bar at closing time. You'd have a fleet of ministers cars driving up to Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park in the wee hours so the drinking could continue. And no Fianna Fail piss up was complete until you had Brian Cowen slobbering Guinness all over his white shirt while giving a rendition of the Offaly Rover along with Mary Coughlan gazing on in admiration. Good times.

Guy:Incognito · 26-05-2020 02:15PM

Allinall wrote: »

The rest of us don't live in Finglas.

Samll mercies, eh

road_high · 26-05-2020 02:18PM

CBear1993 wrote: »

Leo was kicked out onto his ars* after he wasn’t voted back in in February. He’s also a caretaker Taoiseach as it stands.

Perhaps but none of the great “change” mongers are queuing up for the job.
That’s the problem with SF, great at elections and saying what should happen. Nowhere to be seen once the real work beckons

JohnnyFlash · 26-05-2020 02:22PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

Well Farmleigh House is an official residence but he just chooses not to live there until now. Its fully set up for a Taoiseach to live there and handle foreign guests.

Bertie Ahern paid IR£23m for Farmleigh back in 1999. Him and Fianna Fail basically used it for after hours piss ups when they got kicked out of the Dail bar at closing time. You'd have a fleet of ministers cars driving up to Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park in the wee hours so the drinking could continue. And no Fianna Fail piss up was complete until you had Brian Cowen slobbering Guinness all over his white shirt while giving a rendition of the Offaly Rover along with Mary Coughlan gazing on in admiration. Good times.

It was Heineken. Not Guinness.

Why is there no official residence of the Taoiseach

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