If you are thinking of donating to a charity this year you might consider the Kerry Rape Crisis Centre for their support of a victim of sexual assault subject to horrific community bullying in Listowel.
The Irish Examiner has a piece in the paper today. Department staff clocked up 20,000 sick days in 3 years
Oh my that is shocking 20,000. With 5,000 staff. That means that people are taking 1.3 Days on Average uncertified sick leave a year. Emm. Not so shocking now is it? Indeed I guess across all walks of life [...]
Conor Lenihan Junior minister for science, technology, innovation and natural resources. Is taken to task quiet funnily by Sunday Business Post Journalist Adrian Weckler. My favourite bit.
After Fine Gael announced its recent FairCare proposals for health service reform I contacted ILR contributor Dr. Gerry Burke, consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist in Limerick’s Regional and Maternity Hospitals and a vociferous campaigner against co-location to see what he thought of the proposals. I first asked him if the proposals would help improve patient outcomes [...]
Fianna Fail have launched a blog. It seems to be that 4 local Cllrs will be blogging about issue close to their hearts etc etc. So far they are allowing comments (or did when I commented seems to have disappeared)
Update: Comments back seems it was just gremlins.
Bertie Is interviewed in the Northside People
BERTIE Ahern says the buzz of politics has all but gone since he stepped down as Taoiseach. In a candid interview with Northside People, the former Government leader also explained how sitting on the backbenches doesn’t make him “tick”.
“Politics isn’t as big for me anymore,” he said.
From the Corkman
Fianna Fail politicians have disclosed the highest proportion of donations at more than €94,000.
The Labour Party declared more than €40,000 and Fine Gael more than 24,000, while the Greens disclosed just €1,200 worth of donations.
Labour Senator Alan Kelly received the highest amount at more than €35,000, followed by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at [...]
Alarmingly for those of us who value Western freedoms including freedom of speech, the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, has revealed his intention to make “blasphemous libel” a crime, punishable by a fine of €100,000. From the Irish Times:
If you haven’t seen it already, the ESRI released their quarterly analysis with something for everyone. Bad news abounds, nominal 3% drop in wages this year, 16% unemployment next year, GDP decline of 11.6% between 2008 and 2010, a call to focus future budgets on spending cuts. Even a comparison with Zimbabwe.
Dr Alan Barrett also [...]
So Enda Kenny made a trip to Israel and Gaza. I posted before about how they should have blogged about it. Anyway they have made a video of it, but rather then have it on youtube so that people can see it and embedded it in blogs, it is intergrated into the FG website and [...]
UPDATE: MiCandidate have dropped their prices – but their attitude remains. See Suzy for more details.
–
There were a number of interesting developments that stemmed from the analysis of MiCandidate.eu posted here last week.
Firstly, The Irish Times got in contact to say they have no arrangement whatsoever with MiCandidate to display information collated by MiCandidate on [...]
Sources indicate John Gormley will name June 5th as the date for the by-elections in the Dail tonight. This follows a day of calling ministers back to defeat a Fine Gael vote.
I think we are all looking forward to hearing who the celebrity candidate from Fine Gael is going to be for Dublin South and [...]
Many people wonder how to become a politican. What skills do you need. So in a more then likely a one post series I hope to show you how to become a politican by examples of some of our leading politicans. From Senator Alan Kelly
Just to get something off my chest. It is incredibly unfair [...]
Update: Hilary Clinton has just been on to say she has pioneered the style for far longer than these newbies.
Kudos to Deirdre de Burca for flagging Suzy’s post on the Fine Gael cogging BBC.co.uk for their new website. Not so much kudos for suggesting that Mairead McGuinness is copying her clothing style (a bit [...]
Naoise Nunn, former Libertas director during the Lisbon treaty campaign, has an interesting appearance today in the Irish Times. Despite the party polling at 2% in the latest Business Post poll, the Chairman appears to be hanging his hat on a few high-profile scuffles between his candidates and sitting MEPs to generate profile.
Ganley has his [...]
Dermot Desmond pops up twice in the business pages of the Irish Times today. Once as sage commentator offering a seemingly pain-free way out of the banking crisis. Then there’s a convoluted story from the foul rag and bone shop that is the Michael Lowry portion of the Moriarty Tribunal in which the question is [...]
In Monday’s Irish Times, John McGuinness is now directly challenging the memory if not the veracity of Mary Coughlan’s account of their recent conversations. The fact that he was well liked in the media seems to be an underlying issue in the breakdown of his relationship with Mary Coughlan and Brian Cowen. Another Coughlan reference [...]
Dan Boyle sheds the green jersey. His Sunday Tribune comments (which only got a weblink late in the day) are noted by Reuters.
Ivor the Driver — full Seanad report. It was nice of Bertie to send Ivor’s letter of appointment to his Cork address.
How ossified is Irish politics? In the blink of an eye, Australia — which had no recession — replaces its Prime Minister.
I’m a victim of unique Irish blame culture, says Harney
Things Ministers don't do part 2: Harney is not really responsible for these clinial fuck-ups. Sure kick her over policy but not failure. Typical Irish begrudgerry.
