Irish Election - Coverage of Irish Politics, News and Current Affairs

Bertie’s post-EU summit outburst about BUPA leaving the Irish market is vintage stuff and deserves to be noted for the record. And there was one other little bit of summit business with electoral implications.

Labour Publishes Civil Unions Bill, Green Ink.

Green Ink

Ten years after the party passed a motion on the matter—proposed by yours truly—at a party conference in Limerick, today the Labour Party have published a Civil Union Bill to be debated in the Dáil during private members time.

From the Green Party: Low number of women in politics ‘a national scandal’—Maher. It is quite interesting, the state of women in Irish politics. There are not that many, only fourteen, though the fourteen that are in the Dail are quiet high profile. It would not be a total surprise if the next Taoiseach was [...]

Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed / A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed / Then one day he was shootin at some food / And up through the ground came a bubblin crude. Oil that is, black gold, Texas T.
Sadly for us, no one in Ireland is going [...]

We’ve no particular insights to offer on the murders of the last couple of days, to which is now added this evening’s shooting near the IFSC. News accounts are still unclear as to how or why one of the victims of the Louth carjacking spree ended up dead. It is a time when [...]

From the Green Party:
The Green Party has called for the terms of the exploration rights of gas and oil off the Irish coast to be redrafted. The Party passed a policy calling for new terms at a recent meeting of its National Council. [...] While the Government and the main opposition parties continue to avoid [...]

As if to prove having a hissy fit and threatening to leave politics works, Sean Haughey has been appointed Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science.
Update: Funnily enough, Adam posted the same thing at the same time.

Hardly a surprise, but Sean Haughey has been confirmed as the next Minister of State in the Department of Education, replacing Sile de Valera, who announced her resignation in October and ended her tenure in the role on Friday.
As RTÉ News mentions, Sean Haughey threw a very public tantrum in February when he was overlooked [...]

Fair Deal on Long-Term Care, Green Ink.

Direct from a source in Athboy: FG HQ has directed that three candidates be chosen. Sarah’s complaint is being realised. So it’s Geraghty, but on a diluted ticket. Updates to follow.
Update: As expected given the above, the convention has concluded without a vote, and the three candidates are Damien English TD, Graham Geraghty and Peter [...]

As I am not a journalist, my contact with the political parties and government is all done via the Internet. Thus this survey by Red Cardinal comes as no surprise.
Government Department sites:
25% Failed the minimum standard for accessibility,
75% Failed both minimum accessibility and basic coding standards.
Public body sites:
33% Failed the minimum standard for accessibility,
100% Failed [...]

Here is a novelty: if the decision on the age of consent should be lowered, why not let the citizens most affected by the decision be allowed to vote on the subject? Why not lower the voting age to 16 and put the decision up to the people. That would let the TDs and Dail [...]

Man hospitalised following Dundalk shooting, Green Ink

Irish media and politics are still recovering from the “Luntz” effect and the first use by a media outlet of a political focus group. Frank Luntz conducted the focus group of “undecided” voters from the Dublin/Leinster region for RTÉ’s The Week in Politics programme. The premise of the program was that there is approximately 18 [...]