Longford is the same. In fairness the only issues I've encountered with the Roma are with dumping rubbish. Many of them at least use the bins at the local park. While not ideal it's better than some of the apartment blocks that are mainly housing this group. Rubbish building up outside their apartments ,balcony's and thrown in the river. It can't be good for the cafes near by. Yes locals dump rubbish too but it is mainly this group and our own ethnic group. Overall they stick together and don't do much harm that I have seen.
Today, 13th July 2022, there are 875 properties for rent in Ireland. Total rentals in the country are circa 320,000
There is no question that the country is actually full in terms of accommodation. Refugees/Asylum seekers should be camped at the nearest friendly country. Any talk of issuing 40,000 non EU work permits should be treated as the insanity that it is.
We are actually at the point where we should be introducing temporary measures such as limiting entry into the country from the EU and UK by having a fixed number of work visas issued to EU and non Northern Irish UK citizens. This is an emergency and should be treated as such.
Anyone who cares about their childrens future or are having issues renting or buying property should be raising hell with the media for failing to ask truly basic questions and also hounding the politicians from local to national level.
Firstly, the IRA is gone. There is no “war counsel”, there is no war.
Now onto ML and party, I think they will be worse for Ireland than the NP or other loons taking some seats. I think they will absolutely destroy the country and I think the effect of that would push people back to FFG who’d lap it up.
A few loons taking seats might make FFG and others realise that the people have had enough and bring them more to the moderate social right. It might energise someone to start a party with common sense policies which are sadly lacking currently.
I hope to never hear the name Green Party ever again too.
UKIP and then the Brexit party showed it can be done, a party can rise up and challenge the 2.5 party systems.
Mind you the Kent coast is still being invaded day after day, night and after night, and the criminal gangs and NGOs are very powerful even in the face of mass public outrage in the UK. We are all in a marathon here, not a sprint.
That’s ridiculous. If the gravy train keeps rolling and FFG keep power, why in the name of god, would they ever want to change that??
They’ll just say that everyone has a vote, and to use it. Your point is akin to trying to stop gun violence in the US by just ignoring it and hoping it goes away. The real world doesn’t work like that.
Spoiled votes are the political equivalent of “thoughts and prayers”. Pointless.
Will voting SF change things for the better? I really don't get how anyone can seriously consider voting for the IRA because that's what they're voting for. Mary Lou can front the party but she's nothing more than a front for the IRA war council. They're happy to be all things to all people for whatever votes they can get and they're worse than FFFG on migration. I will spoil my vote, it's not something I ever even considered before but it's important to vote and I think it's better to spoil your vote than to abstain from voting. If you spoil your vote it sends a message if you don't vote they can pretend that it's voter apathy. If you vote SF you're sending the country down the toilet.
Unpalatable as it may be, Irish voters may be better off holding their nose going into the ballot box to send a message that can't be ignored or wilfully misconstrued.
Great post btw. Oh, I completely agree... although I would say that the "Trump" vote is not really the best choice here. Voting in SF or, as unlikely as it might be, the NP (fringes) would be a rough alternative, especially with the precedence being created in voters minds that they should be voting these parties in, with regards to future elections. I see spoiling votes as the preferred option, within the system itself... but I don't believe that any such actions within that system will be effective. I genuinely believe it's a trap for the Irish population to keep them from demanding change.
Although TBH I don't have much influence in this myself. While I'm currently registered to vote, I won't be here at any election (I'm aiming to leave within the next two months), and as there's no foreign voting.. Yeah. I also tend to avoid most political discussions, but the comments about voting for the NP seemed silly to me. All it does is give credibility to the delusional leftist agenda of talking about the rise of the far right, and all that other nonsense, which would have a knock on effect in other areas of society.
Wait a sec, I thought that the narrative was that no one had caused any trouble and all the reports of problems were made up but according to this theres been an arrest and 2 other men who were causing trouble have been moved elsewhere in the country
"When asked about rumours of “incidents” regarding local women and children, Councillor Leonard, said that one asylum seeker was arrested and will go to court, while two others have been removed from Harry’s and will be “moved on to other parts of the country.”"
https://gript.ie/our-children-arent-safe-kinnegad-meeting-hears-asylum-concerns/
Klaz,
Unfortunately, I have to disagree with you here. The only thing that politicians fear is losing their seat and place on the gravy train. That's why they fear their own party colleagues running in the same constituencies more than political opponents as they're more likely to eat into their vote and put their seats at risk. As has been said previously, spoilt votes and low turnout and low political engagement are nothing for them to fear. Their core vote will always turn out and vote for them no matter what. What they will fear more is votes that previously they could have counted on going elsewhere, to what were fringe candidates. They will see that and adjust their policies and actions to help them keep their seats.
High minded thoughts about spoiling votes to make a statement are all good and well, and who knows if enough votes were spoiled then there might be an article in the Times from Fintan O'Toole about low political engagement, and how this is bad for democracy.
You may even get something on RTE where they'll roll out an academic from Trinity or somewhere who will have a 5 minute segment to say that disengagement is a sign of something more wrong with society and that more research is needed to find out the exact causes. Then a discussion with the usual talking heads that they have on every week, someone from FF FG saying that it's bad but we have a robust democracy. Someone from the Greens saying that it's due to inaction on climate change, Richard Boyd Barrett saying that the working class are being left behind and this is why they have disengaged, but that when they vote for him and his colleagues then everything will be fine. Who knows they might even bring on someone like Ebun saying that it's because of systemic racism, and that everybody should be allowed to vote whether they are citizens or not, and that quotas for People of Colour should be put into law. Note that all of them will avoid the elephant in the room and push their own hobby horses instead. I think that this is a reasonable scenario of the establishment's reaction to a lot of spoiled votes as a statement. Then they will wait for it all to blow over and it'll be back to business as usual.
You alluded to this in your post where you said politicians will probably attempt to ignore the statement anyway and say that it's a basis for national discussion. The establishment doesn't want national discussion, they want to be able to continue on as they have. Remember Peter Casey talking about travellers and social housing? One throwaway remark hit a nerve and he got a lot of previously hidden support. That was definitely a case for national discussion, but can you actually remember one, or one that wasn't heavily curated to skew towards allowed opinions only?
You say it might be easier for politicians to simply ignore voters of fringe candidates, and they do because they know that they have negligible core support. But one thing they cannot ignore is voters that previously voted for them now shifting to support the fringe. Unpalatable as it may be, Irish voters may be better off holding their nose going into the ballot box to send a message that can't be ignored or wilfully misconstrued.
Well, it would be the combination of the spoiled votes, and people speaking up online or in the media, to express why they spoiled their votes. The public expression of contempt for the system and the political parties. Both are needed. One alone is useless.
I've been very much in favor of spoiled votes, and not just spoiled, but " None of them" written on the ballot. And if all of those who say " I'm not going to vote for any of them, if they instead voted, and spoiled their votes , it would send the msg that the people want change, But most likely, we wont see any kind of meaning full change until people take to the streets, for sure that will happen, its a question of when.
I think most people understand my position on Irish politics. I don't see anything changing as long as the Irish population work within the system that has been moulded by politicians over the last century. It's a stacked deck, and the only realistic option I can see for change, is not to play at all. However, if you are going to play, then spoiling votes appears to be the best option.
Although, I don't see it as being any kind of effective option. That would require Irish people taking to the streets, and demanding that the current system be investigated/revised with their best interests in mind... rather than the current one.
We are caught between a rock and a hard place. The National Party are too extreme and no one I can relate to. It's a shame. If you remember the Presidential elections when Peter Casey spoke up and said what a lot of us think about travellers a lot of the general public went hold on he has a point and got a vote off that. The NGO's and Government at the time went mad.
A party that just said enough is enough we have a cap of who we are taking in. Failed asylum seekers get fast tracked and deported.
Tougher sentacing on crime and proper jail sentances. Judges who have poor track records removed from the bench.
End to long term unemployment benefit.
All NGO funding cut and save the exchequer nearly 6Billion per annum
But alas we won't see any of the above with the cowards in Government and opposition.
I will be telling them when they call to my door and probably vote for an independent
Letterkenny is locally known as 'Letterkenya'. It says it all.
If enough people spoil their voted FFG will be in power for yet another 5 years. It will change nothing.
A spoilt vote is a statement. Voting for the NP is working within the system.. and will be taken as such. So, it's not a statement..
If enough people spoil their votes, then it's a statement hard to ignore. Oh, I agree that our politicians will attempt to ignore it anyway, but it's a basis for public discussion. It's imply easier to dismiss supporters of the NP than it is to dismiss the numbers spoiling votes.
Worry not, they will probably get housing in those 2 new estates being built on Condell Road. Ahead of everyone else of course, because them being refugees from literally across the world makes them so much more worthy and deserving. As for honest working people, fk them.
They won’t care about a spoiled vote or a low turnout. The fewer people are engaged in the political process the better as far as our ‘representatives’ are concerned. This whole situation clearly shows that
the only thing that might fire a shot across their bows is a rising vote share for candidates on the far right
I'll be spoiling my vote. I don't believe a word any of them are saying anymore. None of them will touch the subject of asylum seekers or bogus migrants. I wouldn't even consider voting for SF and I think anyone who thinks voting for them because they'll do a better job or because it'll scare the main parties into doing better is making a mistake. All anyone can do is challenge these politicians when they call to our doors and make it clear what your feelings are and what you want done. A simple thing like asking them what their policy on all of this unlimited refugees and asylum seekers is before you say anything about it so that you get an honest answer then telling them that their policy just cost them your vote.
What's truly worrying in all of this is the fact that there doesn't appear to by anyone in any of the main political parties, calling this out. It's as plain as the nose on your face that there are huge numbers of asylum seekers in Ireland now. There can't be a single town that hasn't had some put there. Now nobody has a problem with us helping some genuine asylum seekers but we all know that the vast majority aren't genuine. Why are people from Somalia traveling to Ireland. Why are we taking in people who have to get connecting flights to get here?
We literally have nowhere to put anymore, be they Ukrainians or whatever. We're facing into recession. We've people already struggling to pay their bills and feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. There will be people who lose their jobs and who can't pay their rent/mortgage so they will lose their homes. Where will these people go? Where will they be accommodated? They sure as hell won't be put in a nice hotel with 3 free meals a day, a medical card, free travel and all the rest.
I had a look at the helping Ukrainians in Clare Facebook page yesterday and it's shocking how cheeky the asks are. Bear in mind they're getting 208 a week plus extra for kids plus child benefit plus no rent to pay. 'Urgent request for 2 yoga mats' a request for a child's hairbrush. Requests for accommodation for which the family of Mum Dad and 5 daughters would be willing to pay 'something' towards rent. Feck me, but why is Dad here and what the frick is going on? Many want bikes and suitcases. The vast majority of things they're asking for can be bought cheaply in Dunnes or a 2 euro shop but shure why would they when the gullible are willing to give them stuff for free.
I can't help thinking that a lot of the outpouring of support for these people is to do with 2 years of absolute boredom during Covid restrictions. People had nothing to do and all day to do it and Ukrainian 'refugees' was the latest I support the current thing. All of these people turning their avatars to the Ukrainian flag, just as they with with #BLM, #Ibelieveher, #standwithparis and every other 'cause'. Don't get me wrong, I support helping some genuine refugees but what we're seeing ain't that.
Whats happened in Kinnegad, elsewhere, and now Letterkenny are national issues. Many would like to pretend they are local issues. Some are making money via NGOs, government contracts and are shills for this new industry....lets look at the basic numbers:
Census figures can aid planning for infrastructure years in advance because the population growth rate was mostly newborns. Now the population growth rate has a large new adult/migrant component.
"The population increase of 361,671 was made up of a natural increase (births minus deaths) of 171,338 and estimated net inward migration (population change minus natural increase) of 190,333."
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0623/1306398-census/
Approx 30 adults into Letterkenny - population 19,274 is circa 1.5% population growth in one day. Not newborns, adults. This is an important distinction as newborns are born into existing households, new adults will require their own (own door accommodation in 3 to 4 months).
Adding what would be a healthy ANNUAL growth rate in a single day with the possibility of more to come during an accommodation crisis is stupidity.
Letterkenny currently has 13 properties for rent and 77 for sale
If the 30 are all couples the demand is 15 properties. If they all have families somewhere else its 30.
@ 15 that is more than all the properties for rent in Letterkenny. Or if the government wants to purchase their own door accommodation then its a demand of nearly 20% of all properties for sale in Letterkenny.
Overnight. And with no end in sight.
I'd considered this, but my issue there is a spoilt vote would just be dismissed out of hand. They can't ignore valid votes however. Again, I'm deeply uncomfortable with the idea of lending a vote to the utter freaks in The National Party, but I feel its the most effective way of registering my opposition that's available to me.
As rural as I am a local hotel beside me has now a sign outside saying closed to the public.
And they wonder why tourists stay away.
Spoiling your vote is the only reasonably useful act there. Imagine if the NP actually got some influence? They're the only group I think are worse than SF.
Yep. I find it absolutely disgusting that my taxes are being used to pamper these people in hotels and restaurants while if you walk down O Connell street in Limerick you'll see plenty of homeless Irish people.
These refugees as they're called have contributed absolutely nothing to this country yet we're rolling out the red carpet for them.
I'd be rolling it straight to the airport and shipping them back to where they came from. We have to sort out our own **** first and look after our own people.
But I suppose that opinion is racist or some other sort of bollox term nowadays..
And unlike them you’d have to pay your own hard earned for the “privilege” of eating there. If you could
A week or so ago I decided to go Shake Dog in Coonagh, Limerick to get my dinner on the way home from work. The one attached to the travel lodge. When we arrived we noticed a few young African looking lads hanging about outside. We tried to go into Shake Dog but we're told it's closed. There was heaps of refugees inside. Apparently there's 87 refugees staying in the travel lodge and the shake dog is their own personal kitchen. No Irish allowed it seems. What a joke of a country we are. A joke because we let all this happen..
I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be lending a vote to the likes of the National Party. But here I am.
Letterkenny is a disaster at the moment like so many of our towns and cities.
Any tourists or visitors coming to most of our big towns and cities expecting to sample and savour the Irish culture will find it hard. African,Romanian Middle Eastern etc on the other hand might be easier to get a taste of.
I won't start about the services and hospital as its the same story as the rest of the country. Not working.
I used to wonder when enough will be enough. But it's past that now.
It's not going to stop.. because there is no reason for the government to stop pushing this agenda.
TBH the only way we're going to see any kind of reduction of this behaviour, is if we see tens of thousands of people consistently doing multiple marches across the country, and sticking it to the Gardai. And even then, I doubt the government will stop completely, instead trying more subtle ways of doing it.
As long as our politicians believe that the electorate are limited to exercising choice (from some narrow choices) at the elections.. and that the Irish population won't act outside of those limited options (and not doing anything outside of the election periods).. they'll do as they wish. After all, what does it really matter if they're not voted in for a few years? The other political parties mirror their agendas.. and the electorate will get pissed at the other parties, ensuring they'll get back in sooner or later.
So.. no.. it's not going to stop, and if anything, will likely increase in scope.
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