Is Waterford served well by it's politicians at the moment?

Harry Palmr · 27-04-2021 2:24pm

Here's the result for the Waterford constituency at the next general election

SF 2
FF 1
Ind 1

If the university is a handy benchmark for our representatives willingness to come out and bat for the Deise then we've got a collection of spineless, gutless wonders who'd be bowled out first ball every time bar Seanies favourite!

The rest of them just do Dublin's bidding.

BBM77 · 27-04-2021 2:50pm

Always thought Waterford was not served well by national government. But always voted. To be honest I cannot see myself voting again after the WIT downgrade to TUSE.

Wanderer78 · 27-04-2021 3:17pm

BBM77 wrote: »

Always thought Waterford was not served well by national government. But always voted. To be honest I cannot see myself voting again after the WIT downgrade to TUSE.

ive gone through these debates myself, but ive come to realise, if we all do this, you can say goodbye to democracy, this process has been diabolical though

hardybuck · 27-04-2021 3:17pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Here's the result for the Waterford constituency at the next general election

SF 2
FF 1
Ind 1

If the university is a handy benchmark for our representatives willingness to come out and bat for the Deise then we've got a collection of spineless, gutless wonders who'd be bowled out first ball every time bar Seanies favourite! The rest of them just do Dublin's bidding.

I'm going to put my neck out and say that the University isn't happening in the next few years anyway. If I was a TD I wouldn't be wasting my energy on that.

azimuth17 · 27-04-2021 3:24pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Here's the result for the Waterford constituency at the next general election

SF 2
FF 1
Ind 1

If the university is a handy benchmark for our representatives willingness to come out and bat for the Deise then we've got a collection of spineless, gutless wonders who'd be bowled out first ball every time bar Seanies favourite! The rest of them just do Dublin's bidding.

Absolutely on the button.

SeanieW1977 · 28-04-2021 12:51am

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Here's the result for the Waterford constituency at the next general election

SF 2
FF 1
Ind 1

If the university is a handy benchmark for our representatives willingness to come out and bat for the Deise then we've got a collection of spineless, gutless wonders who'd be bowled out first ball every time bar Seanies favourite! The rest of them just do Dublin's bidding.

Iv come to the conclusion, that, wait for it, our most capable politician is Marc o c.

I fear however he will be consumed with national issues & the green agenda - as is his prerogative!

And he will be eviserated in same way Ciara Conway was.

Which is a shame, because he gets things, speaks a lot of sense & does it quite concisely.

SeanieW1977 · 28-04-2021 12:56am

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Here's the result for the Waterford constituency at the next general election

SF 2
FF 1
Ind 1

If the university is a handy benchmark for our representatives willingness to come out and bat for the Deise then we've got a collection of spineless, gutless wonders who'd be bowled out first ball every time bar Seanies favourite! The rest of them just do Dublin's bidding.

Iv come to the conclusion, that, wait for it, our most capable politician is Marc o c.

I fear however he will be consumed with national issues & the green agenda - as is his prerogative!

And he will be eviserated in same way Ciara Conway was.

Wanderer78 · 28-04-2021 7:27am

SeanieW1977 wrote:

I fear however he will be consumed with national issues & the green agenda - as is his prerogative!

Yup, the greens really are dropping the ball here, they need to get more involved in the bigger picture, I appreciate their green efforts, but society needs a lot more than just a healthy environment. I believe it is possible to deal with everything together equally, it's actually critical now that politics has this objective going forward

hardybuck · 28-04-2021 10:44am

It's far too early to be speculating on the outcome of an election which will take place in probably the second half of 2024 or early 2025.

If you took any notice of opinion polls (I wouldn't pay them too much heed at this stage) FG have been the most popular party since the onset of COVID last year, and on a couple of occasions they've been as far as 12% ahead of SF in second place.

It looks like FG have occupied space in the right, and far right, that nobody wanted. This is probably to position themselves as the opposite to SF, and to give them some separation from FF - who really look to be a bit lost in the middle these days.

SF on the other hand look to be bossing the left, and will dominate that space for the foreseeable. It's amusing to see Mary Lou refer to herself as leader of the opposition, as that's not a term we have in Ireland - it's a feature of the political establishment in Westminster, which her party abstains from sending MPs to.

I was waiting for someone to mention O'Cathasaigh. I don't think many people in this forum would have expected him to get in at the last election. I don't think many people in Waterford thought Grace O'Sullivan would be elected as an MEP either.

There will be European Elections in May 2024 - probably just before we have a general election. I wouldn't underestimate the impact of the momentum that could build behind Grace, and the support from the people of Tramore, who may row in behind Marc again when the GE comes along.

Wanderer78 · 28-04-2021 11:42am

hardybuck wrote:

I was waiting for someone to mention O'Cathasaigh. I don't think many people in this forum would have expected him to get in at the last election. I don't think many people in Waterford thought Grace O'Sullivan would be elected as an MEP either.

Its important to realise how powerful the youth vote is becoming, green movements are becoming the norm, such is its seriousness, there's an open goal there for the political greens, but ours seem to be so fixated on their our goal, they're completely missing it. Younger voters are in desperate need for nearly all of their essential future needs now , and our educational and training systems are woefully prepared for their future, how much of a bigger goal do you need!

I still think housing will sink ffg, and I suspect ff will pony up with sf, for the good of the country of course(to save themselves)!

azimuth17 · 28-04-2021 2:01pm

hardybuck wrote: »

I was waiting for someone to mention O'Cathasaigh. I don't think many people in this forum would have expected him to get in at the last election. I don't think many people in Waterford thought Grace O'Sullivan would be elected as an MEP either.

There will be European Elections in May 2024 - probably just before we have a general election. I wouldn't underestimate the impact of the momentum that could build behind Grace, and the support from the people of Tramore, who may row in behind Marc again when the GE comes along.

I would have always supported Grace O'Sullivan and will again. Marc OCathasaigh has contributed very little in my opinion, except to align himself with David Cullinane on TUSE. I have read his contributions with interest and I see little drive for Waterford. Maybe he is interested in a bigger picture. I agree that he may hold electoral appeal for the "Trumorean" middle class and dude echelon.

Wanderer78 · 28-04-2021 2:05pm

azimuth17 wrote: »

I would have always supported Grace O'Sullivan and will again. Marc OCathasaigh has contributed very little in my opinion, except to align himself with David Cullinane on TUSE. I have read his contributions with interest and I see little drive for Waterford. Maybe he is interested in a bigger picture. I agree that he may hold electoral appeal for the "Trumorean" middle class and dude echelon.

greens are my default 1, that ll probably be the case again

hardybuck · 28-04-2021 2:22pm

azimuth17 wrote: »

I would have always supported Grace O'Sullivan and will again. Marc OCathasaigh has contributed very little in my opinion, except to align himself with David Cullinane on TUSE. I have read his contributions with interest and I see little drive for Waterford. Maybe he is interested in a bigger picture. I agree that he may hold electoral appeal for the "Trumorean" middle class and dude echelon.

Comes back to what your expectations are and what success looks like I suppose. I don't think you'll see him getting too hot under the collar in the media, and I'm sure some people think that's what success looks like.

I suspect you're going to see a lot more cycling infrastructure popping up around Waterford over the next 1-2 years. It's a heavily car dependent city, so I think you'll see a gradual shift away from that.

I see Waterford has recently announced an ambition to become the first decarbonised city in Ireland. Hopefully that new bridge over to the North Quays, the extension of the Greenway up into Kilkenny and Wexford...lots of environmentally friendly projects popping up around the place.

Wanderer78 · 28-04-2021 2:23pm

hardybuck wrote: »

Comes back to what your expectations are and what success looks like I suppose. I don't think you'll see him getting too hot under the collar in the media, and I'm sure some people think that's what success looks like.

I suspect you're going to see a lot more cycling infrastructure popping up around Waterford over the next 1-2 years. It's a heavily car dependent city, so I think you'll see a gradual shift away from that.

I see Waterford has recently announced an ambition to become the first decarbonised city in Ireland. Hopefully that new bridge over to the North Quays, the extension of the Greenway up into Kilkenny and Wexford...lots of environmentally friendly projects popping up around the place.

...or are we better off expanding our rail network? greenways are nice, but......

hardybuck · 28-04-2021 2:30pm

Wanderer78 wrote: »

...or are we better off expanding our rail network? greenways are nice, but......

No I think we've invested in the roads now so that ship has sailed.

I'd rather spend the money on putting in a bridge to South Wexford somewhere between Passage and Faithlegg instead. That'd be a game changer and private cars, buses and whoever else could use it.

Wanderer78 · 28-04-2021 2:34pm

hardybuck wrote: »

No I think we've invested in the roads now so that ship has sailed.

I'd rather spend the money on putting in a bridge to South Wexford somewhere between Passage and Faithlegg instead. That'd be a game changer and private cars, buses and whoever else could use it.

id have to disagree, we truly need to start looking very long term, decades beyond, and i think rail needs to be a major part of that future, theres clear evidence to support, increased road infrastructure leads to increased road users

Jamie2k9 · 28-04-2021 2:35pm

Not sure about the Greens or Inds, depends on policy and tactic's to keep others out.

The census next year will result in changes for a 2025 election and number of TDs guaranteed to increase. Max 30k per TD and there was a pop of 116k in 2016.

Could we get 5 seater? Or is the 30k based on voting age?

invara · 28-04-2021 2:47pm

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Could we get 5 seater? Or is the 30k based on voting age?

That was the significance of the boundary extension- it would have put pressure on making Waterford a five-seater, and the attendant power that comes with having more reach into Government formation.

hardybuck · 28-04-2021 3:30pm

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Not sure about the Greens or Inds, depends on policy and tactic's to keep others out.

The census next year will result in changes for a 2025 election and number of TDs guaranteed to increase. Max 30k per TD and there was a pop of 116k in 2016.

Could we get 5 seater? Or is the 30k based on voting age?

No I think there's a number of constituencies which have a far greater call on getting an extra TD than Waterford.

Waterford in 2016 had around 29k per TD in 2016, below the average, and the third lowest population per TD. Most constituencies have a population of over 30k per TD.

The population of the State grew by 3.8% in the last census, and Waterford grew by 2.1%, so I'd be surprised if Waterford started growing so aggressively in that time-frame that it would need a 5 seater.

Flow Motion · 28-04-2021 4:41pm

Wanderer78 wrote: »

id have to disagree, we truly need to start looking very long term, decades beyond, and i think rail needs to be a major part of that future, theres clear evidence to support, increased road infrastructure leads to increased road users

We should look at investing in rail IMO. Compared to other European counties we are light year behind. Whats needed is a rail corridor from Rosslare to say Killarney and from Killarney up to Donegal. This would tie in nicely with tourism. However with the Govt spending 12bn Euro + counting on Covid dont think there will be much to play around with for the next decade.

Harry Palmr · 28-04-2021 4:51pm

FG might be doing well enough nationally but locally they look stuffed to me. A GE is just a collection of local elections and down here they've got feck all to offer the public.

The Green's do the Green thing, MOC has hardly said a thing on the TUSE, when I raised this he said he was working behind the scenes which is a perfect reply in the moment of course as I couldn't refute that but it's nonsense politically - if you are not saying it out loud you are not saying it. His twitter feed is overwhelmingly environment obviously while anything else is towing the government line like Mary Butler does "I welcome this 200 euro grant for extending the use of hand sanitisers to pay car parks" sort of guff.

As for 5 seats hell will freeze over in KK/CAR and WEX before they allow it.

new92 · 28-04-2021 5:08pm

hardybuck wrote: »

No I think we've invested in the roads now so that ship has sailed.

I'd rather spend the money on putting in a bridge to South Wexford somewhere between Passage and Faithlegg instead. That'd be a game changer and private cars, buses and whoever else could use it.

Whose idea is that, Robert Moses?

Jizique · 28-04-2021 5:17pm

Flow Motion wrote: »

We should look at investing in rail IMO. Compared to other European counties we are light year behind. Whats needed is a rail corridor from Rosslare to say Killarney and from Killarney up to Donegal. This would tie in nicely with tourism. However with the Govt spending 12bn Euro + counting on Covid dont think there will be much to play around with for the next decade.

And why do all the tourists do when they get to Killarney?
And how do they get to Rosslare, car ferry by any chance?
And what happens if they want to visit the Gold Coast on the way to Killarney, and West Cork on the way back?
Rail works in populated centers for commuters, with regular services, not in remote locations for a 2 month tourist season.
The same people are those who will whine about the lack of local hospital or how we aren’t paying health staff enough. And how there aren’t enough houses. No, let’s build a fcukin’ railway that nobody will use. Because I like railways and I had a train set when I was a kid.

Wanderer78 · 28-04-2021 6:39pm

Flow Motion wrote:

We should look at investing in rail IMO. Compared to other European counties we are light year behind. Whats needed is a rail corridor from Rosslare to say Killarney and from Killarney up to Donegal. This would tie in nicely with tourism. However with the Govt spending 12bn Euro + counting on Covid dont think there will be much to play around with for the next decade.

Jizique wrote:

And why do all the tourists do when they get to Killarney? And how do they get to Rosslare, car ferry by any chance? And what happens if they want to visit the Gold Coast on the way to Killarney, and West Cork on the way back? Rail works in populated centers for commuters, with regular services, not in remote locations for a 2 month tourist season. The same people are those who will whine about the lack of local hospital or how we arenâ€™t paying health staff enough. And how there arenâ€™t enough houses. No, letâ€™s build a fcukinâ€™ railway that nobody will use. Because I like railways and I had a train set when I was a kid.

We need to get over this idea, there is no money to do these things, we have figured out how to create an astonishing amounts of the stuff, even though not problem free, without causing serious problems like the past, hyperinflation, etc. There's clear data to show, increasing road infrastructure, increases traffic, we have to stop this, our rail network needs billions in investment, to bring it to international standards, we should never have stopped investing in it, and pushing more money towards roads, but we re in a perfect position now to rectify this.

Oh, and I'm still fcuking waiting on my train set!

jmcc · 28-04-2021 6:48pm

Jizique wrote: »

And why do all the tourists do when they get to Killarney?
And how do they get to Rosslare, car ferry by any chance?
And what happens if they want to visit the Gold Coast on the way to Killarney, and West Cork on the way back?
Rail works in populated centers for commuters, with regular services, not in remote locations for a 2 month tourist season.
The same people are those who will whine about the lack of local hospital or how we aren’t paying health staff enough. And how there aren’t enough houses. No, let’s build a fcukin’ railway that nobody will use. Because I like railways and I had a train set when I was a kid.

The argument for a rail system in Waterford is actually a lot stronger than it is for the hodge-podge cities made up out of a bunch of villages and small county towns.

Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland. That means that it has grown outwards from the centre and most of the population is in the city. The best way for non-Waterforders to understand it is to look at the 5KM rule during lockdown. For people in the city, it effectively covered most of city. A rail system connecting Waterford and Tramore used to exist but the rail system was torn up in the 1960s.

Regards...jmcc

Asdfgh2020 · 28-04-2021 11:49pm

jmcc wrote: »

The argument for a rail system in Waterford is actually a lot stronger than it is for the hodge-podge cities made up out of a bunch of villages and small county towns.

Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland. That means that it has grown outwards from the centre and most of the population is in the city. The best way for non-Waterforders to understand it is to look at the 5KM rule during lockdown. For people in the city, it effectively covered most of city. A rail system connecting Waterford and Tramore used to exist but the rail system was torn up in the 1960s.

Regards...jmcc

Don’t know what point you are trying to make. Reinstate the waterford tramore rail connection...?

Jizique · 29-04-2021 12:20am

jmcc wrote: »

The argument for a rail system in Waterford is actually a lot stronger than it is for the hodge-podge cities made up out of a bunch of villages and small county towns.

Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland. That means that it has grown outwards from the centre and most of the population is in the city. The best way for non-Waterforders to understand it is to look at the 5KM rule during lockdown. For people in the city, it effectively covered most of city. A rail system connecting Waterford and Tramore used to exist but the rail system was torn up in the 1960s.

Regards...jmcc

Give everyone in Waterford and electric bike ffs; not everyone lives within walking distance of the train station

Yellow_Fern · 29-04-2021 1:32am

Flow Motion wrote: »

We should look at investing in rail IMO. Compared to other European counties we are light year behind. Whats needed is a rail corridor from Rosslare to say Killarney and from Killarney up to Donegal. This would tie in nicely with tourism. However with the Govt spending 12bn Euro + counting on Covid dont think there will be much to play around with for the next decade.

I wish that could happen but I cant see it happening. The European Commission had a document advising on the availability of rail and it says you need something like 10 million or so trips a year to make it worth it. It is easy to overspend on rail. Look at California or Spain.

Wanderer78 · 29-04-2021 7:34am

Asdfgh2020 wrote:

Donâ€™t know what point you are trying to make. Reinstate the waterford tramore rail connection...?

If we kept our regional rail networks going, we d be in a far superior position, we need to expand our network asap, and now is the perfect time and opportunity

Yellow_Fern wrote:

I wish that could happen but I cant see it happening. The European Commission had a document advising on the availability of rail and it says you need something like 10 million or so trips a year to make it worth it. It is easy to overspend on rail. Look at California or Spain.

It doesn't get any better than our current situation to expand, we need to start thinking very long term, way beyond our own lives, in these regards

Flow Motion · 29-04-2021 9:58am

Jizique wrote: »

And why do all the tourists do when they get to Killarney?
And how do they get to Rosslare, car ferry by any chance?
And what happens if they want to visit the Gold Coast on the way to Killarney, and West Cork on the way back?
Rail works in populated centers for commuters, with regular services, not in remote locations for a 2 month tourist season.
The same people are those who will whine about the lack of local hospital or how we aren’t paying health staff enough. And how there aren’t enough houses. No, let’s build a fcukin’ railway that nobody will use. Because I like railways and I had a train set when I was a kid.

I take it you don't like railways then :pac: Or Mommy never got ya one when you were a kid perhaps??

Is Waterford served well by it's politicians at the moment?

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