Simmering anger

I think at the moment there is a sense of anger but resignation in this will be the way it is until a general election comes about. A lot of people are hoping a drastic shake-up in government will change the landscape of life in Ireland for the better.

If SF don't get in then FF and FG will never have to do go a good job

I can see the reasoning behind this view but with SF history, including recent history… the phrase.. ‘ better the devil you know ‘ would be my thinking.

always some skullduggery with them. Too used to not playing by the rules unless it’s their rules.

if they got in, getting them out democratically might be an issue.

I don't believe any politcal party including SF can or actually wants to fix the issues we are facing. These are worldwide issues, it's the 'haves' vs the 'have-nots', simple as that, and the recent inflation and housing crisis is their way of scaring people who got a taste of personal freedom and empowerment during lockdowns into going back to being slaves, and to divide us.

It is working to an extent - when there is financial help announced for those on social welfare payments look how many people on here get their pants in a bunch. The middle class turn their hate to the lower class instead of the upper and the lower class turn their hate to the immigrants and refugees. Everyone is pissed that someone else is getting something and not them. It's very easy to get caught up in, especially because we can see the man on the dole or the refugee walking around but we don't see the ones who are really keeping us down, often they are faceless corporations, so they are insulated from the anger ordinary citizens feel.

During the pandemic a lot of people realized how badly we get screwed, especially by companies that employ us. We give them so much of our time (a far more precious and limited commodity than money) for so little in return - often just barely enough to maintain our very existence and get back and forth to work. Many are forced into long commutes and answering emails and such after work hours. People decided they wouldn't do it any more and that shocked the system. Now it seems to me that the 'elites' or whatever you want to call them are trying to rein us back in and gain more power - making everything more expensive and creating fear around the most basic of needs (shelter).

The health crisis is due to vast corruption in the industry from pharma and insurance companies and the government. They don't want free public healthcare so the system stays broken by design to try and force people to choose a system that they can profit from.

I actually think these things will get worse before they get better and the world will become more dystopian as natural disasters are increasing all the time while resources like housing decrease. As more people are displaced all the time from earthquakes, floods not to mention war, it's going to get worse. It's going to look pretty scary. But things won't get better until it becomes that bad. So bad that huge swathes of people no longer have anything to lose, and really come together and push against the system to tear it down, realize the power they have in their numbers and basically force a revolution.

Sounds crazy I know and laugh if you want, but I believe the 'simmering anger' OP is on about is actually the start of a shift that is occuring and you don't have to even be angry to feel it - I think everyone is waking up to the need for a big change in our society. Voting will only be a small part of it.

If it happens during our lifetime we'll be laughing when we remember back to the days when we thought any of the current parties (SF included) were interested or capable of helping people when it was the people who had the power all along. We'll laugh about thinking a social welfare bonus was big news - there will be a universal basic income for starters. The bitter boardsie dole bashers will have a total meltdown!

I read a recent thread from r/Ireland ón Reddit a few days ago about people who were struggling to find access to mental health services here in Ireland.

It said that the main cohort of people who were accessing these services were mostly middle age. They were stuck in an immovable situation with trying to pay their high energy bills, along with high rent or mortgage rates and who also have kids combined with all of the above.

It was really heartbreaking to read some of the responses within that discussion. There were some posters there who they themselves or who had friends who tried to take their own lives while struggling to pay their high bills while currently being in employment.

I do feel that there are two dynamics of how Ireland is operating at the moment. Within one dynamic, you have a country that has a very strong economy with record levels of employment in nearly every sector of work while getting good salaries.

The other dynamic shows us a very different Ireland at play. It gives us an impression that there are some cohorts of people who are either not so successful in their role of work or who are currently low paid who are trying to make a lot of effort in paying those high bills while not making good attempts to get them paid in full. There are also those who are currently on social welfare that are also not able to pay these high bills at all.

That is the main issue within dealing with this cost of living crisis. It does show us that there are certain challenges ahead that have to be dealt with as a society and a country in how we can manage to pay these bills in the near future.

I also heard on the news recently that inflation is beginning to fall however electricity prices have not come down yet which is also a bit troubling for people here at the moment.

This is the problem with party politics. If we don’t make our. Politicians work hard for our votes, if they just assume they will get in again, they will do nothing for us. Look at our housing - why cant the county councils build them?

At our last election, ff were so worried about SF who were just one seat behind them for a majority, they had to join with the same old FG/G coalition to keep SF out. They should have bought them in and trained them in the mechanisms of government so that once SF get in, and they will get in, they have an understanding how it all works.

FF/FG/G are so worried of Mary Lou that they had to gang up on her to keep her out - they wont keep her out at the next election.

For clarity, I’m a more than middle aged woman who rents and has a small business in rural ireland and I will be voting SF

"Vancouver is boring as shyte too, apparently"

This made me laugh!! Have you ever been to Vancouver or is this just hearsay from a few bitter Irish lads who never got to travel beyond the local GAA pitch? I've spent a considerable amount of time in Vancouver and also in New Zealand. To say they are breath takingly beautiful is an understatement, you wouldn't know that unless you saw these places. They both have a broadminded , relaxed, easygoing, friendly, non-judgemental attitude, not the small minded, bitter begrudgery you see and hear in Ireland.

They are close to seas, mountains, forests, rivers, world class skiing, regular transport services that work (!!), the list is endless. The work life balance is brilliant, nobody works beyond 5pm, the attitude is get out there and live your life, work is a means to living it, it is actively encouraged to be fit and outdoorsy. I have family in both Vancouver and Auckland.

Yes these places are expensive and its hard to get accommodation whether it's rental or to buy, whether its holiday or permanent, but that's a small price to pay. Some posters here need to travel a bit more and broaden their minds!

(I love Ireland too and live in a rural location now, close to beaches and mountains)

They should privatise the hospitals ,cut the HSE right back to make a flatter structure between health prociders and patients, allow private primary networks to expand and fund it with mandatory universal health insurance with the same access rights for everybody。none of the complete bullshit with medical cards that goes on now, where people who just arrived in the country get better treatment than somebody paying into it 30 years.

Now that's crazy.

That's not how it was in 80s. Was involved in building in 80 and builders often had new houses built and couldn't sell them. Empty sites they couldn't sell. Half of Dublin city center was derelict. People didn't have the money.

People forget we've gone from being a relatively poor country to a rich one and desirable European destination. Along with all the other things that have happened.

I think SF voters know what SF won't fix anything.

Let's be honest, there's no magic bullet to any of the issues in our country. But, FFG have let it get this bad over the past 2 decades, and it's only getting worse.

If SF can stop things getting worse, or make them get worse slower, then it'll be a result.

We need a change, even if that change doesn't result in anything.