FF/FG/Green Government - Part 3

While I’m still stone cold sober May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy 2024.

We have our differences but let us celebrate in unison.

No offence meant to anyone, but this is the very reason I won’t be voting SF:

While a United Ireland is a dream, it seems it’s their main aim. Sorry but for me we have far more pressing problems - housing law & order spring to mind.

As I've said before, ask most people if they'd support the idea of a UI in principle and they'll say "sure! of course!"

Then ask them if they'll be willing to pay higher taxes to pay for it, and deal with the inevitable security issues that would arise, or the further dilution of Dail representation that would result by adding more TDs from the North and it'll be a very different story!

Plus, why would anyone in NI want to subject themselves to the mess that is the HSE, housing and political goverance in general? EU membership is the obvious one but that's not without serious drawbacks either.

The best solution really is NI becomes an independent state that can apply for EU membership if they wish and retains the benefits of close UK/IE ties.

I mean, when you have Leo coming out with this...

.. A man who has fallen asleep on the job (literally) and whose party has minimal electoral support (only 7% of those who bothered to turn out last time, and less since) being suggested as Taoiseach??? Really??

Of course the idea that the current coalition will be returned is probably as much of a fantasy as a UI anyway!

McEntee got absolutely mauled on Callans Kicks. Genius stuff. I am surprised FFG let it air!

We live not on cement alone. There are a myriad of things that could be levied or taxed other than cement. Putting the levy on cement will have the effect of inflating the price of new properties without upsetting anyone other than people who buy houses built after 2023 and it has the effect of generally keeping house prices elevated, which is something the government wants.

If however, existing houses were taxed to pay the cement levy, that would put downward pressure on house prices generally and not inflate the cost of post 2023 houses. But the government does not want house prices to fall.

The government says the cement levy is justified because the industry was at fault. So was justice the governments motive, when it applied the levy to cement? I doubt it. They were looking at the effect it would have of house prices generally. If justice was the governments motive, then they could have levied labour because the Gardaí were cheating when they doing the millions of fake breathilizer tests. The Gardaí are part of the labour force, they cheated instead of giving value for money, therefore all labour should be levied. Would that be just?

At least name it right as cement is just one product affected: Defective Concrete Products Levy or concrete levy for short.

I wonder where the media are getting a November date for an election from, it wouldn't surprise me though if it happened because they have to call an election by Feb 2025 anyway.

This March, the Irish people will go to the polls for the first time since Jan 2020. The Referendums, then the Locals/Europeans in June.

They already know it's going to be a blood bath...the Government will not want to hang about soon after the summer elections, as doing so would allow for a greater period for opposition parties/candidates to organize, so it's be called after the Budget....that is the thinking!

Pay no attention to the polls, there is no way this current Government will perform the same as Jan 2020 (which was a disaster for both Fg & FF), I don't even think Sinn Fein will, they have alienated their own support base. I can see Leo losing his seat.

The media will of course pretend that the far right are to be feared every chance they get, as we can see even on boards, less and less people are being fooled by that tactic...we are in for a turbulent decade in my view, similar to what we have witnessed in other countries, but it is inevitable.

Not really seeing much difference between November and February as far as electoral conditions go. Both Ryan and Martin apparently favour going the full term and bookies are giving slight odds on for a 2035 election so i reckon that’s what we’ll get

I'll probably vote SF as I believe we need a shift to the left on housing and they'll take us somewhere in that direction.

My preference would be Social Democrat but the candidate they put out in my constituency was very weak last time round.

The state returning to actually building housing in large numbers. Instead of the disastrous policies we've had for the last decade of minimal state building, and billions of tax payer euros wasted on HAP and leasing of private sector housing units for social housing.

?

The Irish state has built hundreds of thousands of houses in the past. Theres absolutely nothing stopping it from re-engaging in building tens of thousands more, this wouldn't do anything like "cripple Ireland and housing".

If the state doesn't get more involved we're going to continue to build far fewer homes per year than are required, as the figures I posted on this very page show. We're building 20,000+ too few homes per year by the ESRI and Housing Commission's own (neutral, non politically biased) reports.

SF are deluded if they think this is possible "McDonald said her party will focus on electing enough Sinn Féin TDs to form a government without Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil". Combine their notions of that with their similarly ridiculous notions about a UI, and their uncosted housing proposals and enough people will see through them to not allow them in.

I suspect we will see a return of FF+FG along with a better third member, perhaps SD and/or Labor, depending on seats. I really don't see a reason not to return FFG to power when the alternative soundbite junkies have given nothing but pie in the sky proposals and dreams without foundations on UI. They (SF) have alienated a lot of their fanbase too with their position(s) on immigration. You can't play both sides of an argument, and there's a reason most nationalist parties are right wing - instead of left like SF - as left wing views don't tie well with pro national views.