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

The full Leas Cross Inquiry report is online since 4:00 as the whole of Ireland is obsessed with the Bord Snip report (see our posts here). The report is embedded below the fold. As I read I will add analysis and keep the post updated. Feel free to wade in in the comments.

Dan Boyle was on point duty for the Greens once again yesterday. Himself and his party colleague in the Seanad, Deirdre De Burca voted against the Government move to guillotine the final stage of the Criminal Justice Act last night. How very noble of them. Then Boyle, a senator – i.e. someone the general public [...]

We’re going to try something new on Irish Election for the release of the An Bord Snip report. It’s expected at some point in the next few days, probably early Thursday (tomorrow) or early Friday. Irish Election has a community of commenters that most media outlets don’t – that’s what makes this site worth reading, [...]

The An Bord Snip Report will be the most important document delivered to Government in the last, and next, 20 years. We don’t know all that much about its contents as of yet. It was received by Lenihan’s office last Wednesday but leaks don’t seem to have been all that forthcoming. Over the last few [...]

Third level fees have weaseled their way back onto the news agenda. On Tuesday Minister of Education, Batt O’Keefe submitted documents to cabinet detailing the range of options available to Government for abolishing the ‘free fees’ regime. See the Indo report, or The Irish Times for more newsy information. As the Indo says, it is [...]

I didn’t think Mary Coughlan was all that bad (dont shoot me) until I watched Oireachtas Report last night last night – fast forward to 17mins 50seconds, transcript below. Our Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, partook in the following exchange in the Dáil with Leo Varadkar, the Fine Gael spokesperson [...]

Exchequer figures were released by the dept of finance in the last few hours. Don’t worry, I’ve no wince-inducing chart this time. Main points, Exchequer deficit now stands at €14,709,153,000 (€14.7bn), this time last year it was €5.6bn. So, more than doubled between Jan 08 and Jan 09, ouchies. It should be noted however that [...]

Last night the government put forward plans to invest in jobs to the trade unions as part of the social partnership plans. The fund will initially consist of a €250 million investment with a possible pot of €1bn in theory.

Much of page 12 in today’s Irish Times is given to follow-up articles on yesterday’s conference on political reform. Like most conferences, it had its good parts and… I spent the day in a bunker-like lecture hall deep in the bowels TCD’s Arts Block listening to highly-informed journalists and academics. The vast majority of the speakers were either insightful, educational [...]

Apropos only 19 of 145 judges taking a pay cut, Niall Collins TD for Fianna Fail in Limerick wants a referendum: “This group of elite untouchables should be subjected to the regular procedures administering the pay of higher civil servants. In the modern day being protected by the Constitution is simply not good enough given [...]

With a week to digest the election results, the Green Party might be credited with an emerging strategy to take into their negotiations for a renewed programme for government and, in theory at least, the second part of the process of government for however long it lasts. It was assessed here and elsewhere that the [...]

“Tabloid politics” was how Mary O’Rourke described the Dail Debate on the Confidence Motion. And she was right. There was no policy discussion of merit – apart from Brian Lenihan‘s effort – about where we are going and what we need to do to get there. Insults were liberally traded on all sides. Enda Kenny [...]

Today at 12.00 from the Garden of Remembrance. Sign the petition and bring a white ribbon if you are attending. Today’s order of business in the Dail is the worst political failure I have seen: 10.30 a.m. * Leaders Questions * Motion re Confidence in Government (to conclude at 5.30 p.m.)

This the first in a series of posts written members of political parties. Irish Election contacted members of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour and The Green Party who are active online and asked them to provide a post of between 600 and 1000 words on the brief “Why you should vote for X Party’s candidates in the European elections”.

I will post them in the opposite order to how we posted the party political broadcasts, two today, two tomorrow. That means the Greens are up first then Labour, Fine Gael after them and lastly Fianna Fáil. Other parties are welcome to submit posts to my personal email as seen on my website (easier keep them all together). Deadline is noon tomorrow and not a minute later. Posts must be written by party members who are not standing for election.

Written by Andrew Murphy. Andrew is based in Galway, a former chair of the Young Greens and national co-ordinator for the party.

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This week almost 400 million voters will go to the polls to take part in the biggest exercise in representative democracy after India. However, this event should not just be celebrated as an example of Europe’s peaceful transition – it should be treated as an opportunity to shape Europe, and its role on the world, in the coming years. You will not just be voting for “Ireland’s team” in Europe, you will be voting for men and women who will have a profound impact on this continent. This is not a decision to be taken lightly.

Blink and you would miss it, a speech written to get traction with the press on how Cowen is ‘getting a grip of the campaign’ and taking it ‘by the scruff of the neck’ to bring his demoralised troops over the line kicking and screaming. Like when he intervened in the general election 2007, the [...]

Their half-year results blew people out of the water, Anglo Irish bank has set aside €4bn to cover losses it expects to make on loans, mostly advanced to property developers, along with another 235 million euro in losses on various investments. The Minister for Finance, effective owner of the bank, reveals that the government will [...]