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IF THE RURAL Independents get into government and have the chance to stall the proposed new speeding laws “it would be deeply regrettable”, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross has said.
In an interview with TheJournal.ie, Ross added that he doesn’t believe Rural Independents would get the opportunity to roll back on the drink-driving legislation passed in 2018, if they went into government with any larger party.
The group, which is made up of Mattie McGrath, Michael Healy-Rae, Danny Healy-Rae Carol Nolan, Michael Collins, and Richard O’Donoghue, had a number of specific items on their wish list during government formation talks last week.
With 19 Independent TDs elected, TDs not affiliated to any party could be key to making up the numbers for any government when formed.
Ross, who came into conflict with the Healy Raes as well as Mattie McGrath over reformed drink driving rules, said:
“If the Rural Independents see an opportunity to encourage people to be reckless on the roads I think it would be unforgivable… But if they think they can stall the speeding legislation, I think it would be deeply regrettable because they’d be responsible for road deaths, particularly in rural areas. And that’s just unacceptable.”
He commended Sinn Féin in the government formation talks for ruling out any changes to the penalty points system if in government, something newly elected Independent TD Richard O’Donoghue raised last week, stating that drivers are getting three points on their licences for “very minor offences”.
When asked if he believes in penalty point reforms, Ross said:
“Yes. I think should they should be increased for mobiles and for other things. I think it is absurd for them [Rural Independents] to be looking for that [for a reduction].
“I gather they [Rural Independents] went to Sinn Féin and asked for changes and they said no, and I’d like to applaud them for that position and on my Road Safety bill where they supported my bill throughout, whereas we didn’t get the same unequivocal support from others, like Rural Independents. That’s something which should be acknowledged. I might not approve of a lot of their financial policies, but on issues like that, and on the judges, they were very, very solid,” he said.
New speeding laws in ‘peril’
Ross said he wants the next government to push the speeding legislation over the line as it will save lives, highlighting that seven people lost their lives on the road last weekend alone.
Under the system, drivers who exceed the limit by more than 30km/ph will face a court prosecution and a €2,000 fine.
The new law will also see drivers that record minor infringements of the speed limit, of between zero to 10km/ph, get fewer penalty points than is currently the norm.
Currently, speeding of any kind carries a fixed charge fine of €80, along with three penalty points.
Under the new rules, drivers who record minor infringements will only get two penalty points along with a €60 fine.
Anyone speeding between 10km/ph and 20 km/ph over the limit will receive three penalty points, and an €80 fine, with those caught speeding between 20km/ph and 30 km/ph over the limit getting a €100 fine and four penalty points.
However, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan spoke out against the new plans last year, stating they could have unforeseeable consequences.
Due to the disagreement, the bill was sent to a Cabinet subcommittee to be redrafted, with one or two amendments being made. These changes have resulted in some of the penalties for lower-level infringements of the speed limit being reduced.
“The speeding legislation is necessary, but I think the road safety legislation is in peril. The reaction to the speed legislation was knee-jerk and somewhat similar to the drink-driving,” Ross said.
“Every time there’s a piece of road safety legislation, the usual suspects seem to come up. I mean, it’s absolutely no secret that there was not unanimous approval in the Cabinet for the drink-driving [law], but it got through, it got through narrowly,” he said.
“When I introduce the graduating speeding, there was a similar hiatus. A lot of people in Fine Gael were not in agreement.
“The reaction to road safety legislation is, I think, disgraceful in some quarters, when it’s only about saving lives. You know, those who oppose it should think seriously about their positions there.”
‘Gagging to go into government’
While Ross warns about the Rural Independents getting their hands on power, he also has reservations about the Green Party in government.
“The Greens are gagging to go into government, they’ll go into government with anyone,” he said.
Ross didn’t deny it when put to him that he doesn’t appear to have much time for the Green Party.
“Look, climate change, I am an absolute believer in climate change measures being necessary and accelerated. I’ve got electric car… and I did all I could for it in the transport area,” he said.
However, he added:
“I think they’re unrealistic. It’s very easy to spend other people’s money and the Greens found that easy last time in government. That’s what they did and we nearly went bankrupt,” he said.
The minister said the Green Party will have to “prove quite a lot” if they go into government, stating: “They’re championing a great ideal but we have to see how it is going to be paid for.”
When asked if the public will end up paying more with the Green Party in government, Ross said:
Of course they will, if they’re allowed to do some of the mad projects they’re talking about, you know, putting the Luas out to Terenure and Rathfarnham and areas like that.
He said NTA has carefully assessed those projects and ruled they are “non-runners”.
The party has proposed extending the MetroLink to serve South-West Dublin. It also wants to It also wants to make public transport free for all students and introduce a €365 public transport annual pass modelled on the fare structure first introduced in Vienna in 2013.
“If they can temper there more extravagant demands, and stick to the really worthy causes which they do champion, which is climate change, they’ll be a force for good. But I’m not confident they’ll do that, they haven’t got the discipline, and their record last time doesn’t give you a confidence. But I wish them well,” said Ross.
Circling the wagons after weekend poll
What does he think will happen?
After the weekend poll which gave Sinn Féin a ten-point bounce, Ross said it will be panic stations in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil HQs.
“I assume it [the poll] will cause a circling of the wagons and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will rush towards each others’ embraces. But not very publicly, they’ll make it look difficult, but basically it will push them together. They will go through a certain amount of antics over the next few weeks. But the threat of Sinn Féin being on 35% – absolutely. It’s the lesser of two evils for them,” he said.
Today, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil plan to meet for the one-day ‘policy exchange’. This follows on from what Varadkar described yesterday as two days of constructive meetings with the Green Party.
Yesterday, the co-leader of the Social Democrats, Róisín Shortall said she believed the government formation talks will continue until Easter.
The Social Democrats yesterday met with Sinn Féin’s team and discussed a number of different policy areas. Another meeting with Sinn Féin is scheduled for Thursday.
Varadkar said the Social Democrats have declined to meet with his party. He added that he also wrote to Sinn Féin to say he was open to discussions – not about government formation – he added, but he said Sinn Fein has not responded to his invite.
“Sinn Féin have not shown any interest in speaking to us,” he said.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald later told RTÉ’s Drivetime that a letter was en route to the Taoiseach.
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The media focus is being taken off FG and passed onto lab , they are a coalition and equally responsible .
1. Junior parties always take the flak for government failures as, being the smaller “partner” have to bend more on their ideals. See Labout in 90′s, PD’s, Greens.
2. Because of point above Labour have turned on most, if not all, of their pre election manifesto.
3. FG are a right leaning party so you get what you vote for there.
I stood in the middle of a constituency meeting, when the talk was about joining government or not, and stated that exactly this would happen only for Pat Rabbitte to insist that it would be Labour’s way and convince enough of that meeting to vote to join with FG.
I refused to stay as a member when the actual ideals behind the party were so blatently abandoned so that a few liars could get power.
the same thing happened to the Lib Dems in the UK. They are taking most of the heat for the policies of the Tories.
It’s a weird dynamic. It’s as if people want to blame the people they sort of liked and are unwilling to place the blame with the people that they didn’t like but who have the majority of responsibility for the problem.
The reality is a junior partner in a coalition will have to bend more.
the only solution is to not go into coalition.
Freilos freilos FG & Labour….I am sure that the Irish peoples slave masters in Germany will look after their best performing captains in Europe.
Aye, even the FG Shills/trolls don’t even need to weigh in on this one.
That’s because as junior partner in a coalition they have to sacrifice their values which they got voted in for. This is rightly seen as a betrayal of the people who voted for them, stopit. Look what happened to the Greens and the PD’s here!
So you resigned because the labour party up for a right wing government so their upper echelons could get their noses back into the trough?
That’s what the labour party always does,why did it come as a suprise to you?
I disagree that the junior party always takes proportionately more than it’s fair share of the blame. Labour and FG are diametrically opposed in principle so it’s inevitable that there should have to be compromise but on this occasion, the Labour Party did not compromise, they capitulated. The condescending attitude of the likes of Rabbitte, Burton and Kelly towards their core voters is unforgivable and IMO was ultimately the cause of all the unrest. When Kelly replaced Hogan at Environment there was hope that a different approach would be taken on water charges, which the Labour Party had said they would not entertain in government, but instead he continued in the same bullying manner as his predecessor, this is not the Labour way.
My local Labour councillor, a genuine hard working public representative has resigned from the Labour Party because of their performance in this administration these are the people the Labour Party needs if it is to regain any of the respect it had, and they are deserting the party in droves.
Martain: I did not say that it was disproportionate. The people who voted Labour expected socially driven policies (with compromise sure but still present). That is not what they got
Not necessarily a direct reply to you Ian, but to the general tenor.
FG called all the shots, and Labour played along.
If ISIS took over Ireland, Labour would put on burkas & be their bitch.
Leave Jones alone.
Alan she is no Monica Lewinsky…
Labour’s decision to go into Government, if I remember, unlike FG, was not made by the elected representatives, or national exec, but by the grass roots of the party. It was on TV about 4 years ago – I remember being fairly impressed that it looked actually democratic, and that the opposition were advocating staying out of government to be the biggest opposition party, continue criticism, and consolidate the left, whereas the proposition were acknowledging that it would be suicide given the Troika requirements, but that FG right wing policies needed to be tempered, and that a minority government would not give the political stability the country needed, at the time the country was literally at the brink.
I remember it being impressive stuff. Doesn’t come out too often in the rhetoric today…
You may disagree Martin, but the record doesn’t tend to support you. Labour were savaged in the past for going into coalition, so were the PDs, so were the Greens, despite each of these actually having put through policies through their time in government that wouldn’t have gotten through if they hadn’t gone into Government.
Generally, my feeling is that there is an ignorance in Ireland of how deep our economic crisis was, how absolutely powerless a sovereign government is when in a bailout, and how compromise works in a coalition situation. While I don’t dispute that there have been an enormous number of cock ups by government over the past few years, I don’t blame them for the amount of pain dished out to normal people over the past 4 years.
I hear people saying this talk about blaming FF is getting old. My children will still be paying for the bailout when they retire. Talk of the crash will get old then.
To be fair, I don’t entirely blame FF either (though I do land a decent helping at their door! :-) ). We as an ignorant, arrogant, greedy society promoted and demanded the culture that created the crash. We may not all have benefited, but the vast majority of Ireland wanted to. We did demand gombeenism, we did glorify chancers, and we did demonise anybody who dared question how great a little country we were.
2011 Labour oppose water charges (brendan howlin). 2015 Labour Minister implements water charges.
Be glad to see the back of that mug. The pain and destruction that woman has caused is unbelievable. It’ll be a pleasure to witness her downfall.
I’m going to enjoy flogging the ‘Labour’ dead horse.
Lie with dogs, rise with fleas.
Fecking no hope.
A year to save labour? Labour couldn’t be saved in a lifetime never mind a year. Liars the whole lot of them
Forget party politics and vote independent it’s the only sure fire way of seeing real political change.
No more for the whip system and back room deals. Politicians that are held accountable to the people that put them in power and not to the party that passes seats from one generation to the next.
It’s not just about ff,sf,fg or lab the other choice is for an independent led government that answers to the people that put them in the seat. Real change and not just the lip service we saw in the last election.
Of course the party hacks will tell you it will never work but the reality is the corruption that destroys irish society is embedded in a party system that ignored the wishes of the voters to put what’s best for the party first.
Hugh ,
I recall an almost identical article , with a Poll , two days ago ?
I think the lady got her answer in that !
Arthur Spring , has Zero chance of holding his existing seat, in Kerry too.
At best , Labour will get 5/6 Seats Max .
That is the beginning of the end .
Connolly and Larkin, spinning in Glasnevin Cemetery methinks ?
We’re in the world is John Lyons?
And Eric Byrne won’t hold his seat in Dublin South Central either And boy do I look forward to seeing them hurt the way they have hurt us! Its time for a complete change in Irish Politics. Independents and Sinn Fein for me in the next General Election which for me can’t come quickly enough
Any actions here on in is like putting a plaster on a burst artery. The bloodbath has already begun
The problem is for Joan is that no matter what story Labour can come up with, people can see it for what it is.
Politicians have all in general been very slow in their understanding of technology, they still think people rely on what they say for their information but they fail to realise how much information is available to the masses often just by a meer touch of a button.
If Joan says anything it can immediately checked, decipered and varified and as a result any mistruth, omission or spin can be seen through.
It’s starting to look like that politicians across the board are going to have to start doing their jobs and telling it how it is rather than trying to spin it to stay in office
Irish people still buy spin
That is true Ian but it is changing and quicker than we think, the politicians keep trying to tap into the vast unused younger voting population, and to those the tech is pratically part of their bodies now, that I think will be a two edged sword.
And Joans already attacked them with her “phone” comment which in it’s self shows a lack of understanding of the modern world.
Very much agreed but as long as the older generation still see 6One news as their main source of the daily events then Spin rules.
Ha ha yes, but their killing them off with the health service cuts now too.
……Like leveling the playing field with a bulldozer.
@Iañ That’s not the case I’m in my sixties and am not impressed by spin. One of the big problems is that not enough young people come out to vote. Too many of them just don’t exercise their franchise. And by the way I’m disgusted with Labour too. I get so angry when they spout the lie that they have protected the “core rates” of Social Welfare. They didn’t. They reduced it for young people, which is an absolute disgrace. Plus they savaged the Household Package which is cruel and callous.
Ian your right about Spin, look at the anti- government riots in Greece last night! The communist/Marxist & looney left came to power on populist policies. Now as they discover that European taxpayers are not going to pay their bills for them, the new government has gone into full reverse dropping their pre-election promises like confetti! The Greek don’t want to even pay the most basic of taxes necessary to run the country- they like to borrow but they don’t want to pay back.
@Yvonne: It is exactly that younger people who, let’s be fair, get the information from more than one source is the issue.
Older people tend to vote and, according to all research, you are in the minority of that age cohort that uses media other than the traditional.
When the general media are giving the government ministers (now magically appearing on their shows) a smooth ride and portraying the economy as recovered then what else are the consumers of such media to think?
Irish people still buy spin and pay vat on it :)
Kelly put the final nail into Labour’s coffin by refusing to renew Ireland’s derogation from imposing water charges and by refusing even to consider writing the public ownership of the resource into the constitution. This meant only one thing, that preparations were to be made to privatise the supply. These were simple things which would have cost little to the state but will prove to be the end of the Labour party, there is no recovery from that.
My sentiments exactly Martin.
Well said Martin, a true betrayal. This was the ‘final nail’ for me and good riddance, more right wing that FG at this stage.
Its the job of a junior partner to get a few core principles through .If Ukip were partners with Conservative they would have to get a referendum .Labour got NOTHING and turned against the very people who voted for them.
NOT A HOPE IN HELL
‘Theoretically, Labour has a good story to tell about what its done for the country’…..? What planet do you live on Hugh????
Shed have a better chance of turning water into wine. I imagine they will do worse then the Green Party did in the last election.
Very doubtful, as they still have their level of support and will get transfers from FG
Joan Burton,
Probably the most useless politician ever too wear high heels…
But I have my doubts about a few more of them. ..
@tom red. Why the reference to high heels? Her sex has no bearing on her performance. Not only is she useless, she has also been actively harmful to humanity
Because I’m pretty sure her male equivalent Enda Kenny doesn’t wear high heels,
Saying that I have my suspicions …
Doubts about if they are useless, or doing a spot of cross dressing?
Not a chance. Burtons arrogance, cupled with that ‘more Thatcher than Thatcher’ droll her voice has taken since she became leader of Labour will finish them off. NOBODY is going to see any change in her behaviour at this stage as anything other than a cynical attempt to pull the wool over voters eyes.
Good work comrade, we must all Hate Labour for Sinn Fein to grow.
99% of the way there! Kudos to our strategy team.
IPhone Joan has the personality of Harold Steptoe without the looks or charm. She is the most right wing individual and Labour if it is to pretend it has socialist heritage need to ditch the @itch
Labour has betrayed working class Irish since the GFC by
standing by and allowing the Government to transfer the brunt of the
austerity programs onto the average worker.
Bank executives and beneficial interests of the Celtic Tiger capitalists
who broke the country have been left with their poultices squirrelled away
overseas and it looks like Sinn Fein is going to be the political beneficiary
by default come the next election.
‘Whatever happened to the Burton Bounce?’ There never was one,the Irish media just made it up out of thin air with a few photos of smiling TD’s,no citizen smiled or felt joy when she took over the leadership,media b.s.
Thats another thing, we have got to start taking to task all these journalists who are peddling the govt trash. I mean yesterdays herald had 3 or 4 anti anti water protest reports trying to make them out to be criminals. Nothing about the criminals who have stashed billions in swiss banks. When they start telling the truth maybe I will start buying newspapers again. As for Labour Stevie Wonder can see that they are finished. Remember just before the last election, when the people had so much disgust with ff/greens well this time its twice as bad because of the downright lies they have told.
I was a labour voter for the last 28 years. I will never vote for the party again. They’re a bunch of traitors and sell outs!
I doubt she’s too worried, I hear she has a gig lined up on The Voice for next season anyway.
No she’s on that new show ” the screech ” .
What is a likely realistic outcome anyone ? Labour have to be finished, ? Do Fine Gael real have enough right wing votes in this country to get in again. Enda has no credibility and Michael Noonan only cares about European bankers, and who are the rest if them and what do they do ? The only advantage Fine Garl have is that their supporters will definitely Vote. They will come out in their droves and Vote. Will the rest of the people who ARE the majority actually go to the polls. Will te hundreds if thousands of people who are against the water tax go to the polls and protest with their vote. The people need to make themselves heard loud and clear at the next election, it is a protest they cannot ignore and they cannot condemn.
In complete agreement with Coca one must protest with the power of their vote! This is your only real opportunity for change
Labour had a redline (we will not enter into government if water charges are on the table ) and failed to take a stand on it not a hope in hell will i vote for labour ever again
Joan will b holding d event in killarneys phone booth next year nd she wont even be a td as she wont get elected
Dead man walking
When ever I read one of these articles about Joan or labour. I always feel like I’m on of those phone calls. Where it’s bye bye, bye bye bye, bye bye, bye bye….. and nobody bloody hangs up.
One of those expensive smart phones like?
Everybody should tell them they will vote for them for the crack.
With all these party get togethers think ins etc do Current TD,s and senators claim expenses for going to them?
And if so why,As for labour they are finished.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they do a FF with the likes of the the big man from Wexford and phat rabbit retiring from politics just before the election.
Because they haven’t the balls to face the electorate.
If they did a u turn on the water charge it could go a bit of the way to rekindle the labour flame
Bye John. You and the l’oreal taoiseach are done for
I would say it’s way too late to save them!!
It’s curtains for Burton.
Labour are a-hurtin’,
Bloodbath? I doubt it….the life and blood has been sucked out of the labour carcass for a long while now. Burtin is just the vampire trying to resuscitate it.
She doesn’t care she’s to old anyway she’s only had one agenda to cream as much money from government while focusing austerity on the worse off I. Society .. Another one for a topaz job like cowen
Refund our usc that was stolen to fund Anglo
labour lost the respect of the people when they stood by and lied through their teeth to get elected.
Then they got their snouts into the gravy trough and treated the people that put their faith & trust in them with such distain and detachment as we the taxpayer’s were shafted again and again.
Well labour,you were warned over and over.
Your freeloading parasites have been told to do something ,the people took to the streets and now our time is coming.
I hope labour and fg are utterly destroyed and I for one will never vote for either party as long as I live.
you can vote for who you like but if you keep the same @ssholes in, nothing is going to change. Don’t be afraid.
There is nothing Labour can do now, any boost in living standards now will be seen for what it is, buying votes. They can go and take a running jump, i always gave labour a vote but NEVER again as long as i live. Labour OUT OUT OUT
I’ve more chance of raising my dead gran pa from his grave his only been dead 27 years.
Yeh good luck with that Joan.
Pack your bags.
Should read “joan burton has a year to wait for labour election bloodbath”, cause its gonna happen…..hopefully.
Please!!!!!! Stop posting pictures of her.
Burton can bounce off into the sunset!
She might not even have a year if that euro body does’t approve irish water.
@Adrian It will be interesting to see how the Party reacts if in the Carlow/Kilkenny by-election they get 4% of the vote like they did in Meath….that’s the most important poll prior to the GE! Also Alan Kelly and the Party have to be thinking about the very real possibility that she is going to lose her seat in Dublin West They have to wonder if its the right thing to do in keeping a lame duck as Leader
Vannin…yer man Gahan is a clown…ignore…or just continue to laugh at his anti-SF rants and trolling. It’s over Joanie…tick…tock…
SF don’t like to speak of their viral Hate Labour campaign.
Sorry for bringing it up.
Put Gerry back on his trampoline, we’re all convinced he’s just a harmless santa.
Comrade John – you are coming across as very bitter lately #jesuissinnfeinnow
John, is that the latest from head office?, a “Viral Hate Labour Campaign” you say.
Speaking as someone who is apolitical, bar having a low tolerance for muppets, I can safely say that Labour have made their own bed.
In saying all of this Labour are still pretty much where they would have been hostorically, in the polls.
Seeing as they are always so keen to jump into bed with a right leaning party, there has never been a real view of a left leaning party as a credible alternative.
*Hisotrically
FFS journal: enable a time limited option to edit our posts
Try using the Journal with a fu@ked up version of dyslexia, whereby, even after multiple checkings, you cannot see a spelling mistake in a line of text that you’ve just typed :-)
So where all meant to say great job labour unemployment is dropping and economy is recovering but our health service is a disgrace. Roads are disgrace outside of cities. Services all over the country have been either closed or downgraded. Pity don’t remember their is more to running a country tn just having good figures for Europe. That as well as good figures there is a social aspect as well.
Disband now and save yourselves the embarrassment, call for an election and you might just leave with the slightest shred of dignity.
there will be 1000′s of people waiting for joan and her fellow labour td’s in kilarney this weekend, but they wont be labour supporters ! there another event taking place, an anti austerity/water charge march in kilarney this weekend ! what great timing !
Joan look out from you’re ivory tower over the long grass and you won’t see ISIS waiting for you but you will find you’re long forgotten voter’s who you failed to stand up for by by Labour
Shes making the most of her time left anyways, a little weekend away break in killarney next weekend, followed by hols in usa for paddys day.
And i might add, all in 5 star hotels no doubt, and its a tour of america, 3 cities, so shes probably hogging the gov jet for it, just for that little extra bit of exclusivity. Making the most if it anyway, while she can. Better stop now before i get arrested!
Bye bye Miss American pie! Smell you later!
Give away budgets here we come
The people from whom Labour’s seats are in danger are themselves. They’ve sold their principles, their party, their core voters and the country for a mess of pottage. They can expect no forgiveness and no mercy.
Sinn Fein have totally neutralised Labour. Clever viral hate campaign, carried out quietly on the ground without ever being seen in hand to hand combat.
Have Labour got the strength to respond intelligently? Clock is ticking…
Joan placed the last nail in Labour Coffin when she stated
‘Water Protestors recording the Gardai on smart phone €500′.
Now Joan Antoinette, cannot pull back from that.
Labour cannot pull back from the fact the gap between the rich and poor has widen, ERSI research clearly state more children poverty under L/FG rule.
Labour can’t even campaign in working class communities anymore, they Are Not Welcome.
As such, Labour will be wiped out next election, remake of the PD wipeout.
Maybe, just maybe then Labour truly reflect on betraying their supporter.
What the hell are you on about now?
…..johngahan
Johngahan – Labour conducted their own suicide – by breaking every promise they made to The Electorate and then letting Rabbitte brag about it.
They didn’t need any help from any other Party .
What’s left of them after The General Election , should merge with The Conservative FG Unionist Party altogether ?
I think she also needs to expand her repetoire of her 2 distinct poses in the dail chamber as well. Her forceful leaning forward pose with hands on the desk doesn’t appear to be effective at being forceful, and the leaning back one with the hands behind the back isn’t emitting any real confidence. And try and hide those little fist pumps when she gets a question she knows the answer to. Its all a bit too orchestrated for my liking.
I can see it could prove difficult for Derek Nolan to hold Galway West next year for Labour.
Eamon Ui Cuiv (FF) and Independent Noel Grealish will be re-elected and given the wave of support for independents, Catherine Connolly who fell short by 20 odd votes to Kyne (FG) last time is also likely to get in?
This will leave Nolan fighting for the last 2 seats with 2 sitting FG TDs (Walsh & Kyne) and a FG senator (Fidelma Naughton) AND the now independent Sen Fidelma Healy-Eames!
Who says Irish elections are interesting!
John Lyons says : “Labour achieved lots of things”, then struggles to give only 2 examples. Also concerning Child Benefit Johns Lyons himself voted to cut it.
They will all soon be on the labour.
Nice to see John Lyons is still alive, rumour around his constituency was that he had mysteriously disappeared soon after he was elected…
Cau I just say? Slán Joan
I just laughed when I opened this up lol labour
The horse has long since bolted.
Labour are like the boy who cried wolf,nobody believes what they say,and they have zero credibility with the people.
It’s not a year she needs , it’s a miracle !!!
Just vote independents, and destroy all parties
One very telling stat that illustrates just how inept Labour have been for the past four years, is that inequality has widened dramatically. What is a supposedly Socialist party doing contributing to such right wing efforts?
There really is call for shame here. Come the weekend,they should hang their heads. But I just know that they are going to be so self congratulatory it will be nauseating !
Bounce her right out of the Dail?
Yes they could get slaughtered but in years to come I hope that the curb they have put on FG will be recognised plus positive legislation that they have promoted.
One of the two main parties always comes out with their greasy hands clutching the reins of power while the partners face the firing squad.
It is unfortunate that the party have been represented by the likes of Gilmour, Rabitte and Burton, the old guard, when there are younger more in touch TD’S available.
I would not write them off yet though. Some of the TD’s are popular locally and there may be a bounce yet to come before the election.
Another Dylan quote, “Time will tell, who’s been left behind, when you go your way and I go mine”.
It’s very true your point about one of the main parties coming out on top while the lesser party face the firing squad. While all the anger and protest is reserved for Labour it is possible that Fine Gael sneak away with the prize. It is Fine Gael that people really need to get rid of now because Labour are not really a threat
Two different times and she is wearing the same top in both of them, knowing some people they might say it is a blue top lol.
Until April 2015 you mean?
Remember that unemployment is dropping and the economy is recovering. Do they not get credit for this?
Unemployment would look like it was dropping i when you consider all the 50 euro a week Jobsbridge scams sorry I meant schemes
Plus the hundreds of thousands forced to emigrate.
But that’s Lab/FG for you – as long as the stats look OK…..
Not much credit to give really, would have been pretty difficult to make lose more jobs. The only way is up when you have hit rock bottom and we aren’t exactly storming up that hill.
Not worth a bollox if it is only benifiting the few.
Too late
I really fancy her
Is that in a Manson way lol.
And for her next trick she’ll walk on water and then turn it into wine….. Well, she has more chance of doing that than getting Labor elected ever again……
have your say