Following on from
this thread
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Not for a moment did I say anything that would lead a reasonable person to think that.
I think an element within the party has far-right sympathies.
What worries me even more, is that the softly-softly approach taken with this element confirms my believe that FFG would jump into government with any nascent far-right political organisation.
You have spent the day posting about FF and supporting domestic terrorists. Called you out on it and run off. Typical of the nonsense you have posted on threads.
If you are concerned about far right political organisations and parties who might jump into government you are on the wrong thread. The Sinn Fein thread is the one you need to post on.
Reada is good mates with her as well
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/new-sinn-fein-justice-spokesman-wanted-council-to-nominate-conspiracy-theorist-gemma-odoherty-to-run-for-president/42425052.html
That's a bit of a leap though. The element, for however much it exists, is entirely fringe with piss all power. The leadership has unequivocally condemned this.
There is basically no evidence to support this and quite a lot to refute it.
Here's the US legal definition of domestic terrorism.
A person engages in domestic terrorism if they do an act “dangerous to human life” that is a violation of the criminal laws of a state or the United States, if the act appears to be intended to: (i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.
TD's have a bit more than 'piss all' power? I'd say hardly, especially when there's a quite small majority.
Condemnation alone, where it has occurred, hardly amounts to a slap on the wrist does it.
They really don't. At least not unless they have sufficient personal appeal to risk having to run as independents. Even then they still have very little power.
What one backbench TD and a couple councillors say is meaningless with regard to the direction of the party. Not least when supposedly at least one of the councillors is being reprimanded.
It is a poor reflection on the individuals involved but it is meaningless with regard the greater direction of the national party.
Before we start listening to these FF councillors, I am from West Galway and Walsh in particular has a dodgy past - who doesn't in FF?
Ollie Crowe forgot he owned a pub
Fianna Fáil Senator Ollie Crowe admits he ‘erred’ in failing to mention he owned a popular Galway bar in register of interests | Independent.ie
Fianna Fáil Senator Ollie Crowe admits he ‘erred’ in failing to mention he owned a popular Galway bar in register of interests
Seamus Walsh has been feathering his nest for a long long time with planning irregularities
FF cllr kept control of his vulture fund farmland (ontheditch.com)
FF cllr’s son built house on land he lost in receivership (ontheditch.com)
-------------------
Ireland is corrupt as ever, they are just good at hiding it and there is zero accountability.
Does it not undermine the message the government is supposedly sending?
Or are they deliberately sending mixed messages? Keeping the far-right some way onside incase required for a future coalition?
Looks to me that there's been a real softly-softly approach with the rural far-right thuggery.
Yes. Especially if they're not disciplined, though I believe they will/might be. Either way it's still not good.
Thus is where you completely lose me and frankly veer into massive conjecture and leaps of logic. Not punishing relatively unimportant people in your party enough is a far cry from appeasing the far right. The leadership and everyone in government has absolutely denounced the action in strong terms. All this is is one TD setting themselves up for an Aontú esque pointless side party.
It's not just that they're so tolerant of the far-right dog whistling from within FF...
The wider government has been so weak in it's response to these acts of domestic terrorism.
We've had vigilante road blocks set up determining who can and can't travel to certain areas, buses forcibly boarded and innocent people intimidated, and several serious acts of arson.
All of this with no police action?
It makes the condemnation appear as just a token gesture.
Talking about support for domestic terrorism.
Sounds very similar to what the councillors said yet this is the leader of the main opposition.
What's your point, that she condemned it?
Of course she did.
The difference being that the government can take action too, but they don't.
So far these rural groups have been allowed to act with impunity.
No police presence at that hotel, despite it being an obvious high risk target based on earlier events.
Is it feasible to have a 24-hour police presence at every potential flashpoint like this however remote? Surely extensive but discreet CCTV monitoring is the appropriate 'presence' for such venues?
She condemned it but understood the local concerns. When a FF councillor said the same you accused them of supporting domestic terrorism. Is Mary Lou supporting it as well?
How was it high risk? it was a group of people with FF county councillors standing outside it. Not what I would call high risk.
There's been a pattern of arson attacks linked with these protests, that's why it was high risk.
And there's a world of difference between Mary Lou's comments, which are broadly similar to what many other politicians have stated, and this element within FF.
There's no attempt to pass the blame with Mary Lou, no mention of Ireland being full, or floods of immigrants, or failures in vetting, or any of the other far right dog whistles.
I too can see why people are anxious. There's been no real policing in rural Ireland for a long time. Any big change or arrival of new people, regardless of from where, is likely to lead to fear because the fear and terror is already there.
So you have a problem is a county councillor from one party says they understand why someone would burn a hotel down but you don’t have an issue when the leader of the party says nearly the same thing
Really this hasn’t worked out well for you has it?
You are being dishonest when you say that what Mary Lou said is "nearly the same thing" as what the FF councillors were saying. I will never vote SF but I take exception to your dishonest posting.
Not just a "but but Sinn Fein"...
A makey uppey "but but Sinn Fein".
Must say it took her long enough to say anything on this.
She was too busy with the calculator trying to add up the price of a house in Ireland.
It would take some calender to work out what's going on with Irish house prices.
I thought Leo's take on it was interesting...
"We screwed housing up so bad no one can ever fix it."
Not a direct quote but captures the message pretty well I'd say.
Calendar or calculator?
Have you managed a direct quote yet or just posting stuff you have imagined up? I ask because twice now you have done it
Why not say what people actually say instead of making up nonsense
Micheàl Martin beginning to panic I think.
He’d be better off concentrating on his own ‘ship’ rather than try slinging mud- this won’t reflect good on him.
Not really, it's egging SF to abandon their leftist policies for a SF/FF coalition. All SF will want is some sort of united Ireland ministry or vote commitment and they'll abandon all the labour/alphabet soup votes they've been picking up. FF are setting out the early terms for them.
This was interesting
The Tánaiste however, did not go as far as to rule out a coalition.
He said instead: “That’s a position the party will come to in due course.”
Did he mean the party will come to a decision on what position to take on a deal with SF at some point before the election but he cannot say for certain what that decision will be?
Or is he saying the party will definitely rule out such a deal at some stage?
It's called paraphrasing and it's a thing. You've tried it yourself, just not successfully.
Would you call it an FFG success when they state houses can no longer be affordable for working people, less it put some of their voters in negative equity?
Would you trust anything coming from a politician who had a chunk of property developers money just resting in his wife's bank account?
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/we-need-to-talk-about-money-micheal-1.560262&ved=2ahUKEwiuyerluK-DAxVIQUEAHeEhDQgQFnoECA0QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2kssXWGohjA1yODQibZubr
I'd call it acknowledging reality. As the response to SF's housing price target shows.
Mind you, I'd be all for explaining that people will just have to put up with it and aggressively driving down house prices with a streamlined planning process and denser housing allowed. But then I'd make a poor politician.
It’s getting to the stage that one cannot believe one word out of a politicians mouth. They all promise the sun moon & stars to get into power, and then all the promises are out the window.
I agree with you that changes to planning and density are required... I just can't see them having much impact if there's not enough tradesman or competition in the market.
But it does seem a lot of FFG supporters are happy to keep screwing over younger generations, once their property assets maintain an inflated value.
