What ever table there is those lads will find a way to be at it.
Walk away when things get difficult would be their modus operandi in case it affects their ‘dynasty’.
Govt is better off without that kind of carry on.
Norma Foley on morning Ireland at the moment, if she says " Job of work to be done" again I'll scream.
I had him call to my house looking for a vote the last election and he regretted knocking on my door. Seems the neighbours gave him the same treatment.
He's milked the blockade well in the end. DIdn't say boo during the events, but put himself out there as a martyr with his resignation. Richest man in the Dail, man of the people?
Continuity Healy-Rae.
Shameless opportunists. They continue to jump in whatever direction the wind is blowing - to protect their own seats and maintain popularity.
How their local constituents cannot see through this kind of stuff stuff is beyond me
My man Colie Brophy on the line now with DmcC….Cullinane on the other line for SF.
Could be some harsh words concerning the Indies said here.
"He fixed the road"
Shameless but less so than the likes of Lowry and the rural independents who continue to play Schrodingers government.
The most shameless thing for me would be the sound of Fitzmaurice winding himself up and roaring and shouting in the background.
They do a lot more than that to be fair.
There is a reason the family haven't lost in a GE coming up on 5 decades now.
What are the reasons exactly? I always find it kind of nebulous. What is they do that attracts the undying loyalty that other politicians don't do?
They show it to them folk up in dublin.
I find this funny too. There 32 non Dublin constituencies and 11 within Dublin. So the vast majority of TDs who serve in the Dáil are from constituencies outside Dublin. Yet there is this perception that Dublin is running the country.
Danny healy rae couldn't bare not to be on those protests with all those tractors and lorries, he was like a 4 year old boy with his nose snubbed up to the window
"Mammy can i get on that, i want that"
Ultimately i think we are passed peak "healy rae" even their own voters must now see through all these shenanigans. They couldn't deal with even a little unpopularity. Even jackie healy rae stuck with the government through all those difficult votes during financial crises.
Politically very shrewd by Michael HR in particular.https://archive.ph/w4KfB
He can now claim that he stood for the “people of Kerry” and “the ordinary people of Ireland” he gets massive free publicity. Then at the next election no matter who is in government he can have the potential to give his support.
They constantly shame me being from Kerry and are a real life justification for all those Kerryman jokes.
Simply. If you contact one of them looking for help, they will show up at your house.
You may get an email off another politicians secretary.
Which is great, and more power to him but it is exactly what I meant by "He fixed the road".
The easiest way for an independent politician or small party to lose a future election is to go into government with FF&FG (or go into government full stop really).
I think MHR realised by being in the coalition he could lose his seat because you can't actually get away with just doing that sort of thing when you are a state legislator and not an opposition parish pump politician. The fact is, if you are in government you will be blamed for everything that happens (in this case on a global scale) and have to support actual realistic policies and legislation your constituents might not fully agree with which in turn could make it much harder to get re-elected. That is not something that suits the likes of the Healy-Raes.
They can go back to what they do best now and will have no problem getting re-elected as a result.
Probably statistically true, but the likes of MRH and Lowry would be the exception to that rule. Well he supported that shower with a vote, yeah but he got Mary's medical card sorted, sort of stuff. You have the whole family then.
It all boils down to what they can get for the Parish, like Jackie before them it was all about selling the vote.
That's before we even consider did MRH resign or was he pushed. Or both.
The Junior Ministry was given to him because he was worth 2 votes.
That said I can't see many in the department too sad to see the back of him, I can just imagine the meetings.
My experience with them. Goes beyond the road - one friend wanted her passport As Gailege, passport office couldn't figure it out, e-mailed MHR, passport shows up in Irish quickly.
After Covid when passports were backed up but the passport office was supposedly open, I e-mailed all my TD's including MHR, DHR, Norma Foley, … Only MHR responded and within days the office was back working, passport showed up post-haste. Whether he actually caused anything there or just tagged along, I don't know, no way to know, but the optics were good.
Another's friend having trouble with a scholarship to an Irish school, getting the run around, contacts MHR, poof, problem solved.
if someone dies out here, one of them shows at the funeral and talks to the family, other TD's might come by for a photo op if it was a prominent local.
They're slick, I'll give them that. MHR is on all sorts of management boards for businesses here, too, like the Dingle Skellig Hotel which imo is a dump but it is the only dump around and investments in it are ongoing, building wings on it, new parking lots, etc. The room rates are crazy, and the rooms pathetic, but it's always packed.
Definitely a slick bunch them Healys-Rae.
I didn’t even know he was a minister
They're easy to contact and approachable.
They've time for everyone.
They solve people's problems quickly. Kind of like magic.
You do that consistently for years and years and you'll have a large, loyal base of voters.
They grew up in politics so know how it works.
Realistically though, Kerry people should vote for FF or FG as they're always in power and they sign the checks.
Independents have no real power unless they're supporting the government.
Minister Healy-Rae didn't have what it takes to be in government, he's simply not up to the job.
Of course, he's a very successful politician, good at what his electorate want - being a messenger boy, interceding with the authorities and getting results because he's a TD.
My experience with them. Goes beyond the road - one friend wanted her passport As Gailege, passport office couldn't figure it out, e-mailed MHR, passport shows up in Irish quickly
@Igotadose wanting her passport in irish !!, that doesn't sound like the healy rae voter base ?
I didn't think the gaelscoil demographic were loyal healy rae voters, I doubt they were out with their tractors and lorrys on the fuel protest last week.
Maybe she was looking for her passport in irish so she could return to australia on a new visa . I heard of that trick years ago when in australia myself. That definitely would be the healy rae voter base aswell?
He was only one of 23 Junior Ministers.
Usually non cabinet roles.
The People's Rae-public Of Kerry 😁
I heard one bitchy comment from the Govt benches yesterday that said "The Healy Rae's said they would stick with this Govt through thick and thin, but now thick and thin have left the stage".
Nasty but not all that inaccurate in reality, when one listened to the barely coherent Danny on Drivetime yest eve. God the man can barely string a few simple words together into a sentence. Definitely doesn't come across as having any degree of intelligence whatsoever and his only real function ever has been to mop up the highly articulate and quite capable Michael's surplus.
Spot on…..these two lads are glorified county councillors but their ‘machine’ gives them a lot more power.
They have minimal interest in national politics unless it affects their operations.
It's what I have always said about Willie O'Dea here in Limerick. Glorified councillor who gets you things you were already entitled to and will show up at the funerals.
He has time for all this when other TDs don't because other TDs are stupidly wasting time doing their real job.
I detest parish pump TDs and people who vote for them.
