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FINE GAEL, THE Greens and Sinn Féin are all due to kick off their parliamentary party think-ins this morning, with Mary Lou McDonald back in action after a summer spent recovering from an operation.
McDonald and Varadkar will both fight for the limelight with press events scheduled to clash later this morning.
In the political sphere, this week began with Fianna Fáil’s annual think-in on Monday in the Horse and Jockey Hotel in Tipperary.
TDs gathered to discuss the future direction of the party, with housing, education and the future of public service media core issues addressed during the get-together.
The think-in was punctuated however with the presence of a farmers’ protest, with TDs and the Tánaiste Micheál Martin repeatedly approached by individuals who camped out at the hotel for the night.
Martin met with IFA representatives on the first morning of the event, who set out their stall in relation to the upcoming change in Ireland’s nitrate derogation limit.
Despite the Tánaiste dubbing the meeting a “constructive” one, dairy farmers have said they will protest again today outside the Fine Gael think-in in Tipperary.
Fine Gael TDs and ministers will gather today at the Strand Hotel in Limerick and will be joined on Saturday morning by the party’s Councillors from across the country.
At the same time, Sinn Féin TDs will meet in Dublin for the party’s annual think-in, although their affair is a more modest one day event.
Yesterday, Mary Lou McDonald did her first interview in months.
Speaking on Virgin Media’s Ireland AM programme, McDonald said she underwent a hysterectomy in June following the discovery of tumours and spent the rest of the summer recovering.
In a video published to McDonald’s Instagram account on Wednesday, the Sinn Féin president said she is “fully recovered” and that “Sinn Féin is ready to lead”.
Elsewhere today, Green party TDs and Ministers will also meet for their annual think-in at the Majestic Hotel in Tramore, Waterford.
Yesterday, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats also both held their annual parliamentary party think-ins, with People Before Profit-Solidarity scheduled to hold theirs on Monday in Buswells Hotel in Dublin.
Speaking yesterday, Labour leader Ivana Bacik told reporters in Maynooth that she and other party members have received threats and intimidation from the far-right.
She said there are “worrying signs of far-right organising” in Ireland, and that her party is proud to “face down voices of hate and bigotry”.
Meanwhile, Social Democrat’s leader Holly Cairns told reporters that the SocDems are against a proposed cut in the Universal Social Charge.
Cairns likened a USC cut to buying votes and said the Social Democrats’ approach would be to build up public services so that people see the benefit of the tax they pay.
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Think Ins ???
Look at the state of the homelessness, the housing and the hospital’s. It’s over 100 years since this country had leadership that actually had the courage to fight for its people.
@Moses:
Modern political parties abhor patriotic tendencies. Ireland Inc has replaced the collective vision of nationhood.
There are no ‘Irish’ people in the traditional sense of the term anymore.
The Establishment has a more globalist Agenda now and its allegiances are elsewhere, more supernational than national.
Sinn Fein won’t change that.
@Tommy Haze: a corporation once again…
@Tommy Haze: So your saying we should keep going with the status quo and not bother trying to fix the multiple dumpster fires ffg have started?
@Moses: they must have a think about it all the same not to mention it’s going on over 10 years maybe in another 10 years a solution might be in the horizon,the reason it’s not being dealt with is they simply don’t really care,the money is in the country we seem to be lashing it in every other direction money which could be saved from many departments and the likes of wastes at rte etc would all add up to certainly do a lot of good for hospitals and health at the least, TDs wages and expenses need to be capped to show people as an example they’re serious about dealing with the problem from the top down unless someone like that gets into power it’s just going to get worse
Great to see Mary Lou back. Surely it’s time to give Sinn Féin a chance?
@Anthony Curran: they’ll soon run out of other people’s money.
@Anthony Curran: you would think that alright, but let’s see what their own vote-buying gifts are like. And what actual strategies will they propose. They are great at moaning , but poor in coming up with credible solutions. Eoin O’Broin is actually their best strategist
@Ian McDonald: Eoin O’Broin comes across well but his Solutions are fantastical and more likely to be counter productive.
An economic crash and the emigration that follows might help with the housing crisis… maybe SF is the solution?
@Anthony Curran: when they get used to the gravy dinners and the mercs they’ll lose their edge and get entitled like all the others. It’s easy to be in opposition.
@brian o’leary: You mean when the banks used taxpayers money to save themselves after they brought the country to its knees. Austerity then imposed on the same taxpayers to repay for the gangsterism of the banks and developers facilated by the same political parties that are again in power. You seen to have no problem with the government and the banks using other peoples money and then getting a sweet deal where the banks pay No Corporation Tax on their profits for the next 20 years.
@brian o’leary:
And the sad thing is that no matter who gets elected. we know that very little will change, just another party shouting from the back benches saying what they would do if they were in power.
FFG need removal.
@Davy: Sinn Fein / IRA have a great track record of removing people….permanently!
The one thing I have never seen from. Leo is empty. Basic human emotion for others
@Jimmy Donovan: it’s the economy stupid.
@Jimmy Donovan: oh I see him empty alright, in the cop on department
All 4 of the green party ha they could sit in a smart car and have their think in
Green party having a think in? A misnomer!! They haven’t a brain between them!! In Tramore? No trains to Tramore!! Plenty of carbon footprint there!!
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: Can’t wait to see them travelling on their bikes to Tramore this morning, especially in this rain. Hope the Majestic hotel has towels at the ready.
@Cars: There won’t be a bike in sight Cars.
I can imagine them arriving like the Flinstones with holes in the floor for running along.
There’s only one problem there leaky can’t think for himself.
@: That’s why he has 8 advisors. Costing the state a small fortune.
@David Corrigan: 8 advisors for what ? It certainly isn’t for running the country, maybe it’s for picking out the colours of his ties and socks
@Nigel Hayden: Yep. It’s definitely a bit extreme Nigel.
The only solution to the housing crisis is to remove dependence on the market to provide social and affordable homes. Any party that is telling you the problem can be solved by a few tweaks of the current market-led policy is telling lies., They are in the pockets of Developers and Landlords It ain’t rocket sciences.
It’s time for the people of this Country to have a “Think In”. We are so compliant, these Moronic Politicians on all sides, moan and groan at each other. We have too many Politicians in our Parliament and not a single Statesman or Woman.
It’s time these politicians woke up.
The usual pre election nonsense has already started.
New Roads
New Railways
Better Public Transport
Increased Pension
Lower Taxes
Lower USC
Better Hospital service
And on and on and on.
All we get is more of the same rubbish from all of them.
Each are self serving leaches on our society.
We need people that are willing,capable and focused on delivering for or Citizens.
Nobody in our Parliamentary system at present is equipped or interested in this.
It’s just an ego driven power grab on every side.
I’ve always voted. Every single election, by Election, local Election, European Election and Referendums. I am genuinely concerned about what to do with my ballot at the next election. What is in power have lost their way. What’s potentially coming is terrifying.
I fear for the future of this country.
It’s in the hands of Moronic politicians.
Unfortunately we get what we vote for and not necessarily what we need
Scary
What about honour, accountability, do what you promise to do, courage to stand by what your believe is right ?
The very definition of a not being a politician or a corporate.
Think in, That won’t take long.
I live in the city, served with bus lanes, cycle lanes, escooters etc.. if I lived in the country I would not be voting, the farmers are being told they do not know how to farm right. Nitrates, sulphates, phosphates are seeking from the ground and rocks however nature did that long before farming because plants need nitrates for leaves, phosphates for roots etc it’s called biodiversity. Does none of these political crass necked creatures know they are destroying our ecosystem with this kind of nonsense.
If you live in the country you need a car because very few remote places have buses or trains. You have to use a school bus . Who in their right mind in the country would vote these politicians who want to destroy farming and culture cultivated activities.
I not voting for same old same old. That why we are paying so call living expenses so inflated that politicians do not even recognise that they exist for me and you but not for them.
Why don’t they just bring Klaus over to tell us what’s going to happen. In fact why not bring the EU, UN and WHO to complete our decision making team. All bloody window dressing, they literally can’t make a single decision without running it by Brussels who in turn runs it by the WEF, well that’s unless they’re bringing in more than their quota of third world migrants. Then it’s fine, we can knock yourselves out as the best student in the class.
That means promeses from both sides. The only difference is that Sinn Fein didn’t got the chance to show that they can keep them. While FF/FG already shown that the can break them easily.
With well over a century with ffg in power everyone of our institutions are stacked with generations of thier lackeys and cronies and people wonder why none of our services are fit for purpose for the 23rd century
Nothing to think here … just do
Code for P!ss up
All thinking…no action
Same old story talking rubbish and nothing gets done but pay rises for the gangsters
Ooh yeah..just now they discuss in the EU to give 1 more accomodation free for you know who
So I guess some of the clever clogs on here will be running in the next General Election seeing as the have all the answers to the country’s issues, which compare to many countries around the world are fairly minor. And Sony give me the housing iui issue, 30,000 people bought a home so far this year, and the numbers in emergency accommodation are tiny compared to other states, including NI
@Peter Byrne: 30000 houses is far too low and the gov is patting themselves on the back for missing that target. we need triple that number every year to keep up with demand. I wont be running in the elections but I expect the government to not make a complete balls of everything, not too much to ask from the people in charge.
@Peter Byrne: drinking all day? Believing fairy tales?
Sinn Fein policy is not decided at think ins. It is passed on at them.
@Alan: They are told what their policy is by their bosses in West Belfast.
So an organisation who used to celebrate the blowing up of housing are insistent they are to be in charge of housing. What a country.
Think in fantasy land politics back reality Mary and Vradkar welcome to earth
Shinner “think-in” = instructions from Provo masters
Democracy is the fallacy that most of the people know what’s best most of the time.
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