POLL: Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks
(Jan 5-6, MoE 2.7%)
Sinn Féin 30 (+2 in a month)
Fine Gael 20 (-1)
Fianna Fáil 17 (-2)
Social Democrats 5
PBP-Solidarity 3 (-1)
Labour 3 (-1)
Greens 3
Aontú 3
Inds/others 17 (+3)
The only electoral loser is the people who end up not been Taoiseach at the end of it.
If Varadkar is "devoid of any personality and an electoral loser" what would you describe the leaders of the parties sitting in the opposition?
But it's always been the case that not everyone returns. And it also doesn't mean there's something "wrong" with the country they've left. I know someone who left Ireland with the intention to return after 2 years. She met someone while abroad, got married and now live in a different country again (not where they met and not from where either of them are originally from). Sometimes people leave because they want a different climate, a different culture or because they've always just wanted to live in a specific place.
Funnily enough, of all the people I know who emigrated and returned (so all but 2, who intend to return this year), they've come back with less savings than they left with (apart from the girl who got married and isn't planning to return as a result).
In my circle of friends, the people who have bought property are those who never left Ireland (apart from 1 who left for a couple of years ago over a decade ago, but he didn't have any savings when he came back). Deposits were saved here, not abroad.
We have many failings (e.g. failure to give permanent contracts and full hours to newly qualified teachers is an absolute disgrace), but this notion that people have to emigrate to save up a deposit is a fallacy.
What name?
The name of all the delegates at the SF Ard Fheis who gave a standing ovation when the party called for the release of Garda killers?
The name of a SF front bench member who collected a Garda killer from jail?
The name of the Dublin SF TD who gave a loan of a van to his balaclava-wearing buddies to go "on a job"? Ironically, he was justice spokesperson at the time.
The names of all the front bench SF TDs who attended the funeral of well-known terrorist and criminal Bobby Storey during COVID?
We have a civic and moral responsibility to use our vote wisely. I'd rather be governed by the current incompetents than a party who may be influenced by the army council.
The fact that anyone thinks FF/FG/SF are three separate parties at all shows how stupid most people are.
The reason independents have such a gain is due to FF/FG/SF "defectors" posing as independents to tap into that momentum. Just you wait, after the next election there will be a FF/FG/SF government with a faction of "independents" propping them up.
Varadkar was never elected in the first place. His own party voted overwhelmingly for Simon Coveney by 2:1. After "election" as Taoiseach he did so on the back of Enda Kenny's mandate. Then he effectively lost the 2020 election, finishing third, and still manages to squat his way into the Taoiseach's office. He's a complete vacuous fraud, devoid of any personality and an electoral loser.
It's within the noise of the dataset, there is no significant differences between any of the data points and the mean.
I think worse for SF is the record at DcC when they rolled in to much fanfare saying they would build houses etc. at the end of their terms they had less units that what they started with during a population growth in Dublin.
This was during a phase when Sinn Fein blocked housing all over Ireland to make the crisis worse.
The biggest help of Sinn Fein get into government is they will stop blocking properties
70.2 to 70.4 is a minor increase
Heard him. Basically said the more the merrier as regards population and shure they'll all find places to live. When asked about the rising price of houses, openly said that the way to address this was to boost incomes. Homeless - too bad, next question.
This man is dangerous, he wants to drive population & inflation. He wants to devalue your savings and make your pension inadequate. The sooner he's kicked out, the better.
I didn't make myself spokes person on what citizens want. I simply highlighted what parties the citizens of Ireland have voted for and what parties the citizens of Ireland have established and supported. If all these citizens who want a right wing party but aren't arsed doing anything to help that happen I cant see that ring wing party getting very far at all tbh.
Personally, I think Bacik is vaguely aware of how deeply unpopular she is and how unpalatable she is to large swathes of the country. I suspect she thinks that amalgamating with the SDs will take the heat off her a little and neutralise that sentiment somewhat.
Frankly, both she and Cairns are a waste of space. Neither party has any future in the medium to longer term.
The most favourable interpretation of that data is that things haven't got any worse.
It's a flatline over the period, any variation is background noise and the y-axis scaling is a disingenuous attempt to make it look more significant than it is.
Bacik obviously cannot remember the reason why the SDs were formed in the first place - and that was to get away from Irish Tory Labour.
All that Bacik is trying to do is to use the SDs to maximise her own personal chances of getting a ministerial seat post election.
I think Bacik sees the writing on the wall for Labour, she seems keen to merge with the SDs although Cairns doesn't seem to want them to join up.
Not sure why because the SDs are about as big as they are going to get.
Its not about me starting one although seeing as you mention it I'm hoping The Farmers Alliance is up and running before the council and general elections.
I'm liking what they have to say and I'm not alone in that.
You are the one who came on here making yourself the spokesman on what citizens want as if you know what everyone in the country wants.
Must be racism or homophobia against dear leader. Maybe both.
Yeah the GDP is great, I mean I don't know what everyone is so mad about, my take home pay is higher than it's ever been.
Not all of them return. Some return because this is their home. Usually they have saved a deposit for a house - Ireland cannot even offer them that. The basics.
Rte presenter: We now have record homelessness including 4000 homeless children.
Leo Varadkar : Yeah but we also have record incomes
If its such a corrupt little kip, why would they want to return? Surely there's so many better options for them out there?
People returning obviously see something that warrants returning.
Pretending everything is awful is pointless, because not everything is absolutely awful and it means the real failings don't get the attention they deserve.
The Irish don't have the constitution (as in the stomach, not the document) for a right leaning party.
Why don't you start one then?
So no one leaves to experience a new culture and because they want to live abroad?
I'm a citizen born and bred here.
I want a right leaning party.
See post #65
Why are so many coming back then?
A country where the citizens have no interest in a right leaning party is desperately in need of a right leaning party. How did you come to that conclusion?
They have moved to a position where they just turn up for work and don't lead, don't bother with difficult issues and are running down the clock to retirement.
Its that they don't bother for good or bad that is the problem.
Some people are stupid enough to think Sinn Fein have a magic money tree and they will get a free house, more money in pocket and perfect health system. The rest of us have a bit of cop on
I don't think it's that people are stupid enough to think that SF have a magic money tree, but it's that people think SF could be no worse than "the shower that's in there now"
The reality is they could be an awful lot worse.
FG dragged this country out of the mire after the crash and rebuilt the economy by initially doing what the Troika told them to do, and it worked.
If anyone here can remember back a decade ago it was SF who were advocating ignoring the Troika and going our own way, God only knows where we would be now if that happened.
They're not mutually exclusive. People leave because of the pitiful state of this country under FF/FG especially regarding housing/renting. They return, with their deposits saved from living in another country, in a far better position for having not lived in FF/FGs corrupt little kip. Many never return by the way despite how much we tell ourselves "what a great little kuntree dis is"