The Healy Raes

I would agree with you on that….’

I think it was in Gavan Reilly's book that it was mentioned that a lot of what TDs can do is contact certain organisations (passport office/etc) via a different line, which means it should kick somebody in the office into gear to do whatever is being asked because the request is coming from a TD rather than Joe Public. They don't have any power per se to actually get these bodies to do anything, but it's just the perception that a TD querying it makes things move quicker.

And I guess all TDs could spend their time doing the exact same thing as the Healy-Rae's do, but they concentrate on bigger ticket items like laws and governing and the like.

So the Healy-Raes look after the selfish needs of their constituents and don't worry themselves with the wider political picture. If their voters are happy to have essentially zero say in what actually happens with the law of the land, so be it.

I know several people from Kerry and they all say the same thing. If you want something done, you contact the Healy Raes.

They're basically a soft mafia outfit and they have their fingers in a lot of pies, all the while donning a scally cap culchie facade.

Michael knew he would wasn’t able to do a thing for his constituency over the global oil price. Rather than tell them the truth, he bailed. Back to shouting at the government without having to be responsible for anything.

That's it in a nutshell, plus as someone else pointed he was probably looking for an excuse, given the amount of time it was taking him away from his many other interests. The most objectionable bit for me is that those shouting loudest, including MHR. are the biggest Trump fans going and not one of them has even mentioned what actually caused this fuel price crisis (and probably shortage in the near future).

On the first bit I imagine he missed the attention the soapbox gave him. He was being forgotten about in government and that wouldn't suit the ego at all.

The real test will be can MHR make the younger generation into TD's no matter what type of person they are or their level of competence etc.

I imagine it's often frustration and Mary throws her hands up at the very first bump and wants someone else to do the boring work.

Never worked civil service but I have had years of people getting angry at me over their own stupidity.

Johnny looks like he could be the next Danny……

He will never be trusted again for his vote by any government and will definitely never be any where near a junior ministry again. He has now peaked and its now downhill from here on.

Barry Heneghan another independent TD was asked today about his support for the government and he was unquestioning about continuing his support, he said "My word is my bond", once he made a deal he wasn't going to back away from it when the going got tough unlike MHR. Even Jackie Healy Rae maintained his support for the government throughout the worst of financial crises and I think he got some personal abuse as a result. If you don't have your word you have nothing.

When the dust settles on all this MHR will be a very diminished figure, the fact that he hadn't even got the grace to inform Michael Martin or Simon Harris that he was going to vote with SF says it all.

he was canvassing not far away from me sometime after that news going public, an elderly woman said to him “aren’t you the lad that was in trouble for fighting”, his response “I was and if you vote for me I’ll fight for you too”

Except he didn't. She was either entitled to the card, and would have got it anyway.

Well, that isn't true. Discretionary Medical Cards, normally for serious or on going illness usually come down to a judgement call or quite frequently discretion not being applied properly.

That's when the likes of MHR or to be fair numerous other TDs will intervene on their behalf.

And trust me, if someone with cancer was refused a medical card on some arbitrary income threshold and gets one because of a TDs intervention, that TD has the family vote for a generation at least.