The Blackout: Putting it all in context

There are those who feel that the ban on election coverage the day before the election is a bad thing. I disagree. For me at least, today has put the last three weeks back in context. Just look at the RTE headlines:

Nurses Vote in Favour of Settlement

We need to do something about the Health Service. The Nurses’ problems are just a few of many. It needs serious work. The government’s policy has failed. A new approach is needed. That doesn’t automatically mean you should vote for the opposition, it just means that a new approach is needed.

The Amnesty International Report

Amnesty International criticised Ireland for failing to legislate properly against child trafficking, for failing children with mental health problems and for criminalizing the victims of prostitution. Ireland was also criticised for failing to protect against extraordinary renditions. These are serious problems for our society. Amnesty look at the big picture. You’ll find no mention of Bertie-gate or stamp duty in the report.

Farmers in Dublin Lamb Chop Give Away

Few will say no to a couple of free chops, but this isn’t the “Good News” story it could be interpreted as. Ireland still has a large farming population. They’re cannot compete with foreign farmers from places like Brazil and New Zealand, but if we abandon the farmers to the free market, then Rural Ireland will die. Do we allow the farmers to go bust, thus killing rural life as we know it, or do we support them, a course of action sure to hinder development in the third world? Answers on a postcard please.

Petrol hits 115.9c a litre

Oil and the Environment. It’s not exactly a rosy outlook is it? Oil is running out and climate change is a very real threat to humanity. Half-arsed measures are not enough. But are we willing to take a financial hit to save our grandchildren? You’d like to think so wouldn’t you? But that isn’t what’s happening. In the UK, nuclear power plants are being hailed as the answer? What will the Irish answer to this question be?

These are precisely the issues we should have been discussing all along. It is on these issues that we should be voting. If you’re going to vote tomorrow, then vote for the candidates and the parties that you think will best tackle these issues.

Personally, I won’t be voting, but if I could, I’d probably vote for a change of government. I’ve given them ten years and they’ve failed to meet the challenge. I’ve no great love for the opposition, but perhaps the presence of the Greens might give a slight social conscience to our government. God knows, I’ve had enough of the P.D. approach of nursing the economy and letting society take care of itself and I’ve had enough of Fianna Fail’s refusal to commit itself to any particular course of action on any socially divisive issue. Haven’t you?