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

Joan Burton yesterday in the Dail was talking about murder and the DPP. She said too things that caught my eye. First The efforts made by the DPP to increase the level of communication from his office particularly in the distressing circumstances of the avalanche of murders that regularly occur has been extremely important to [...]

Enda Kenny has to his credit started a debate on reform of the structure of politics in Ireland. Alas it in my opinion does not go far enough. Here are a few thoughts on the matter. The Dail is too little power, the executive rarely if ever gets its position changed by chamber. So there [...]

The Department of Finance is well pleased with the Eurostat decision that NAMA’s funding costs won’t be added to the EU measure of government debt — the one that is supposed to be below 60 percent of GDP. This victory is being achieved by a convoluted legal wheeze, in which NAMA as a parent will [...]

The other day Enda Kenny said. I believe the Seanad should be abolished and the next Fine Gael Government will put this to the people. I have come to the conclusion that a second house of the Oireachtas can no longer be justified. In abolishing Seanad Eireann, I have examined the outcome of similar decisions [...]

An interview with Bertie Ahern just aired on al Jazeera (the English language offshoot channel, not the mother ship in Doha). I only caught the end of it but hopefully they’ll post the full thing on their Youtube channel soon. It was an interview with David Frost but not quite done at the Frost-Nixon level [...]

We’re living through the most important times in contemporary Irish history with decision-makers who shirk making decisions. Since the start of the summer the country has been hit with a slew of reports and scandals, collectively they provided onlookers with a veritable feast of unaccountability and political gutlessness. Each, in their own little way, served [...]

The NAMA business plan was document-dumped a few minutes before the Dail 2nd stage vote. Karl Whelan has been reading the thing in detail and seems more shocked with each iteration. And bear in mind that we are now in the post-RDS environment, where this is a Green project as much as a FF one. [...]

In amidst all the NAMA fun on the Department of Finance’s website, there is seemingly technical “clarification” of the conditions relating to the civil service pension lump sum that is paid at the normal retirement age (and tax free) to those taking early retirement. One clarification explains that the tax treatment of the lump sum [...]

Says RTE, the committee stage for NAMA will be heard on the floor of the DAil allowing all TDs to participate. This is quite related to the ongoing discussion on TD’s presence in the chamber. It remains to be seen how much of the opposition’s points are taken on board. There is a huge debate [...]

Screw NAMA and its business model (which I have spent the day trying to get my head around and still reckon to be a mix of fantasy and gambling) the Green Party are up in arms over ‘New Ross-gate’ in which Olivia Mitchell may have called the town a ’shithole’. Over to you Green town [...]

Update: Now with Westminster comparison. So the new Programme for government is discussed. I.E the supposed plan for running the country in the next 2.5 years. Lots of interested people Now just for comparison. This is Prime Ministers Question Time in Westminster. Watch here. .

Former Green dissident and Cllr Bronwen Maher has joined Labour. Full press release below fold. The party will be appointing Bronwen Maher as Co-Chair of its Environment and Sustainability Policy Group “I am delighted to announce that the former Dublin City Councillor and long time Green Party activist, Bronwen Maher, has jointed the Labour Party. [...]

Came across this paper via the Adam Smith Blog. It talks about the reasons that the welfare state is popular in Sweden. It also outlines steps governments can take to increase the support for welfare state cuts. Do not initiate public commisions. Increase social insurance benefits above the choking level Forbid topping up of welfare [...]

John O Donoghue Resignation Statement from Irish Election on Vimeo. Statement Of John O’ Donoghue T.D. Ceann Comhairle. Tuesday, 13 October 2009. 1. It is an accepted convention of our political system that the Ceann Comhairle should remain above political controversy. Implicit in that duty is an overriding obligation of fairness among all members of [...]

Labour Not clapping. Fianna Fail Clapping.

The beauty of great art is that speaks to something universal in the human experience. It transcends its immediate cultural imprint and historical context. It endures, sometimes over several millennia, because it says something to us of what we are, or might become, or that we would rather not know about ourselves. It is inherently [...]