Irish General Election - Friday, November 29th *Read OP for Mod Warnings*

Voting for my local Independent TD.

I think FF and FG are status-quo parties. I support much of the status-quo but I think Identity Politics is distracting the Department of Justice from fighting crime. The numbert of Gardai has dropped 4,000 under this government. I am all for equality, but felt the referendum was poorly worded and could have had unintended consequences in family law.

I broadly support free speech, but don't consider calls for violence to be free speech. I think we need a debate on immigration in the Dail and possibly a referendum. FF's manifesto actually further expands the work permit system. This will lead to more demand for housing when we already are not building enough for those already here. Our planning system is too slow and in my opinion caters for vested interests.

I don't really trust SF on Ukraine, and the recent manifesto call for an end to military aid confirms me in this. While Ireland doesnt sent military aid, nonetheless I would be concerned about what SF would do in EU votes related to Russia-Ukraine.

I think SF's plan to limit the price of housing is risky. While house prices are too high, SF are not really tested on the economy and it would be a risk. We dont want to crash the housing market, like in 2008. In that situation the problem was too little intervention, but too much intervention could do it too.

I like that my local TD, Verona Murphy, raised concerns about planning practices in Co.Wexford. I think reform of the planning laws can help limit address house prices in a sustainable way. I am concerned that since 2016, FF and FG have been sitting on the report into Donegal County Council where there have been alleged planning irregularities. I think after MICA, we especially need to see whats in that report. There is a danger we are unlearning the lessons of the Tribunals.

I completely disagree. If we go down the path of building a crazy number of homes to facilitate the insane numbers of Irish stuck with their parents and the insane numbers coming here both legally as economic migrants and legally/illegally as IPA's we're asking for 2008 2.0. And unlike the last time our starting point is over 200BN in death. You want us to end up half a trillion in debt? There might be no coming back this time.

We need to keep houses built relatively steady but we also need to prioritise Irish people for these houses. It would take a government who care about us for that to happen and FFG/Greens is not that government.

Interesting observations, but voting for a local independent only doesnt really have an impact on the result of the GE.

Even if they are elected, a lone independent has no influence, unless they are part of a broader alliance.

Isnt the FG manifesto the one most likely to curb asylum immigration?

Is it your belief that their record in this regard has been good to date? And do you think they have been effective in curbing non-asylum immigration in the face of crisis-level housing shortage? Have they even been trying?

Very accurate!

WWhy Would you think that?

His sneering arrogance is undeniable when he interacts with anyone who is not embedded in the FG bubble. The dismissive handshake before he turns his back on her, mid-sentence- he’s something else. If you don’t have the decency to even pretend to listen to voters voice extremely reasonable concerns, you have no business leading the country.

I think Harris completely believes his own hype and I’d love to see FG take a nosedive next Friday. He’s a terrible politician and a coward. Takes no responsibility for any of the mess that has happened on his watch. I can’t respect that.

How many election posters are left standing?

Harris hasn’t mastered the art of feigning interest in people. He was better off going to schools and universities etc. His PR team which I guess don’t come cheap aren’t doing well in masking his many failings or maybe it’s a lost cause. He did delve into the Trump playbook with outright lies. But he doesn’t understand simple messaging or neither does his team.

Of course he believes his own hype. You have to remember/never forget that this is a man who has been wholly surrounded by the FG party apparatus since he dropped out of college and became Francis Fitzgerald's staffer (also why she was so influential in saving McEntee's job earlier in the year).

He's never worked outside of the party, never had to live in that reality the woman was describing (or any others) so all he knows is politics and particularly FG's brand of politics.

It's actually amazing to watch the slide in calibre of their leadership, which wasn't exactly stellar to begin with - Enda (man with 2 pints/where's Enda in a scandal) was bad enough but then Leo (I never met a press microphone I didn't like), and now Simon (Taoiseach by default) Harris, backed up with other quality like Helen (hurt feelz matter) McEntee!

His sneering arrogance is undeniable when he interacts with anyone who is not embedded in the FG bubble. 

Well that's the thing with Simon

Unfortunately it won't happen. McEntee will probably top the poll.