Is it just me or have SF vanished?

Truthvader wrote: »

What would you like them to do? In successful states prices of houses coffeee cigarettes and toothpaste go up because everyone has more money, they can afford more and better.

The problem is that in Ireland this is no longer the case - those prices are going up, but incomes are not keeping pace.

I am open to suggestions but in a country where vast amounts of people earn €50k pa no--one will get a house for €20k because all the other people on 50k will outbid them . Plus the builders building the houses wiont work for €5k pa when they can earn €50k on the site next door. Whst would you like the government to actually do? One solutiion would be to tax the **** out of everyone working and build free houses for everyone. The problem is that everyone learns quickly and either stops working because why would you or gathers what cash they and gets out . What do you think we should do?

Off the top of my head, the government has to disincentivise the use of existing property (both residential and commercial) as an investment vehicle, build large scale subsidised social housing like we did in the 20th century, engage in serious root-and-branch reform of personal injury laws so that businesses are no longer held liable for their patrons' own stupidity, reform the insurance sector, reduce VAT and excise duty for the hospitality sector, improve inter-city and inter-county public transport infrastructure, tackle commercial and private landlords to reduce the cost of housing and of doing business alike, and slash spending on vanity projects which nobody actually wants and public entities which refuse to get their own houses in order (take RTE for instance).

The first on that list is the big one and that's what I and many others talk about when we talk about smashing the paradigm of housing as an investment vehicle instead of as a place to live. The trading and subsequent of residential property by people and entities so they can be used to milk money from people in the form of rent is something we should never have normalised as a society - if you don't live in it and you didn't build it, you shouldn't be the one who owns it.

Bowie wrote: »

He forget FG Councilor O'Leary admiring the Blueshirts the other week and likening them to the resolve of FG today.
Also neglects the fact that the peace process happened in the 1990's.
Until we are a united country those issues remain unresolved but thankfully we've a peace.
I don't know what issues O'Leary might have to be admiring fascists from the 1930's.

Yeh...the Peace Process that came from an Agreement that SF helped achieve...couldn't be having that, let's go back to one that didn't survive a wet week because of the very people SF and Irish people were up against.

Bowie wrote: »

I'm not a SF supporter. I vote for them among others and if they changed their housing policy to one similar to FG I'd no longer vote for them.
That said I know who they are and where they come from. I'll not engage in telling you my views of certain parties because I know many fine people, good republicans too, from various parties including FG. I don't think it's anything to be proud of insulting people you don't know because they like the policies of one party over another.
You need to accept you repeating the same aul' ****e is not news and likely everyone who votes SF is aware of it.

I think everyone could benefit from this. And I mean everyone.

Bowie wrote: »

I'm not a SF supporter. I vote for them among others and if they changed their housing policy to one similar to FG I'd no longer vote for them.

I think this is something a huge number of people honestly don't seem to get or can't actually relate to, and that both saddens me and makes a gigantic amount of sense in the context of Irish politics in general and even just this thread. That some of us see politicians as mere conduits for implementing statutory policy and therefore don't actually consider the person or party, merely the ideology and track record of being honest or dishonest about said ideology, when deciding who to vote for. I don't have a personal beef with FG, if they switched to a left-wing mentality overnight I'd vote for them in a heartbeat. I don't have a personal beef with FF, but even if they switched to a left-wing mentality overnight I'd hesitate to vote for them given their track record of outright lying to the public - FG are absolutely honest about their neoliberal ideology and intentions, FF are not. SF claim to have a left-wing mentality and whether they would flip flop once in power is something which remains to be seen, ergo I'll give them a chance.

Ultimately, what matters to me in politics is which pieces of legislation a TD or party will tick the "yes" box and which pieces of legislation they'll tick the "no" box when that piece of legislation comes before the Oireachtas. In my opinion, voting based on literally any other criteria whatsoever is a waste of a vote. Politicians exist as a conduit for the public to govern their country, if you're choosing who to vote for based on anything other than how they are likely to govern it and whether or not you agree with same, you are in my view wasting your vote. Of course everyone is free to vote as they wish, that's just my opinion of how the system works and the role of elections within that system.

What puzzles me is that this seems to be a minority view. I would have assumed that this is such an obvious fact of representative democracy that pretty much everyone would vote this way, but the majority up until recently do not seem to have. I think that's one of the reasons the election result shocked so many people, when young people finally engaged in their droves, they didn't follow anything but policy when deciding who to vote for. They looked at FF's policies which destroyed the economy just as they were coming of age, they looked at FG's policies which allowed the cost of living to spiral out of control and ruin their twenties, and finally they looked at SF's policies which, while untested, recognise that the cost of living is a problem to be fixed, which neither FF nor FG's policies actually acknowledge. And once that was sorted, the majority of folks in this generation couldn't care less what a politician had or hadn't done in their life outside politics, what mattered was which policies that politician would support in the Oireachtas and which they would not.

The fact that this is somehow seen as some kind of radical departure from "normal" ways of looking at politics is, to me, evidence that politics itself has been massively misused by successive generations until now. If so many people vote for reasons other than "I like this party's policy platform and I don't like this party's policy platform" then it's honestly no wonder we tend to end up with such crappy and unpopular governments.

Bowie wrote: »

I'm not a SF supporter. I vote for them among others and if they changed their housing policy to one similar to FG I'd no longer vote for them.
That said I know who they are and where they come from. I'll not engage in telling you my views of certain parties because I know many fine people, good republicans too, from various parties including FG. I don't think it's anything to be proud of insulting people you don't know because they like the policies of one party over another.
You need to accept you repeating the same aul' ****e is not news and likely everyone who votes SF is aware of it.

Bowie, i have read the housing policies of all three parities. Each have their pros and cons. Each have their achievable short term and medium term goals. Fianna Fáil actually have the most pragmatic and benefits more of people in lower economic areas. Also the finance of it is easier to raise than the tax and spend of SF which is countercyclical. People should forget about political ideals and focus on what outcomes they want.

Mortelaro wrote: »

I know that Garda Horkan's funeral was a state funeral as is the right of any Garda killed while on duty
I'd imagine but I don't know,that the numbers involved in officiating at a state funeral might trump the numbers rule but not social distancing or covid 19 precautions when counting for officiating attendees
So No,I'd disagree with the fools argument there
The public have been attending albeit in much much reduced numbers any funeral I know of,along the road,outside the church and outside the graveyard during this pandemic
Only close family were allowed comfort the bereaved in person usually

I'd be fairly confident that was the case with Garda Horkan's funeral

Look,the funeral of Bobby Storey was a difficult one
In the eyes of Republicans that was also a state funeral in all but name to them
Others here will not agree with me on that
I think the dead deserve respect and I think respect deserves respect
Meaning I'm not comfortable at all with the whole comparing funerals thing

I'd imagine Republican leaders knew the furore that would follow this funeral but took the calculated risk that they needed to show respect
The complication of course is many many people would have a different legitimate view of the late Bobby Storey and that's feeding this furore
MoN will probably get feedback from the PSNI

Posts are getting a lot longer here tonight
I'm too old for that

State Funeral has specific reasons. One where it’s to convey a state of national mourning where it’s of national significance. Garda Horkan received this honour because he was brutally murdered in the line of duty. To use this now as a political football where no parties care other than point scoring is disrespectful to him, his family and to the people who risk their lives.

It is now disrespectful to besmirch this significance to use it as a political football. Equally it is counterproductive to use the funeral of a SF politician to call for the resignation of their key people.

Darc19 wrote: »

SF are loving the publicity this is getting. You simply can't buy this type of coverage.

Their fervent supporters think the sun shines out of their backsides no matter what they do.

Their new younger voters think it's hilarious.


The media are trying their best to create a story that even I as someone who despises their policies and despises the violence that they are still connected to, think it's a total non story.

But Darc that is the thing people are missing. I disagree with every single one of their policies. Tax and spend has never worked in any real sense. I would be the antithesis of the person they represent. Also their knowledge of things like Apple Tax etc is flawed.

Their constant attack on Central Bank with regards to mortgage repossessions is pointless as was their recent attack on insurance. But where people who disagree with policies don’t speak up to any party they do like (for me there is none) and allow this back and forth sh1te talk then it is allowing them to become more popular, increasing tension and divide in disaffected youth and will eventually lead to a country where it is governed by a party who fiscal plan is to bankrupt us.

joeguevara wrote: »

I didn’t go to a funeral of my closest cousin who died and was the same age as me who died overnight. I didn’t attend the funeral of one of my father figures either because of restrictions. I get it.

It’s terrible i agree. But discussing it won’t change anything. What benefit has anyone got from the entire 2 days on this thread.

The tail can wag the dog like.
Crazy post Joe, we might as we'll scrap the thread, all threads for that matter, what's the point in discussing anything.
This is ongoing, a joint press conference cancelled today over it. Who knows what gets cancelled tomoro.
How can SF comment critically on govt covid health policy now and expect to be taken seriously, this will be thrown back in their faces.

joeguevara wrote: »

This is not a Covid Thread. This is a SF vanished thread. If a single day is going to be used to constantly dismiss meaningful discussions by politicians about Ireland’s future then nothing will ever be achieved.

That is why I said senior members from all parties should do a press conference. Admit mistakes made on all sides. Put Ireland ahead of squabbles and grow up.

What mistakes were made on all sides at Storeys funeral?

Bishop of hope wrote: »

What mistakes were made on all sides at Storeys funeral?

Just that it was 30 years too late

Bishop of hope wrote: »

This is about a single event, unless you dip into the whataboutry.
Do you think SF made a mistake here?

Yes of course I do. I dislike Sinn Fein and their policies. I think if they wanted to pay respect they could have done so through the live stream. Did you think I thought differently?