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

Keith has a really great post on Lisbon (not least for his Biff Sniff’s LolMartin pic). He has four ways Europe can resurrect the defeat from Lisbon number 4 is my favourite but hop over to read the rest.
Don’t be so bloody patronising.
Feel free to check out the t-shirt shop aswell. Some new EU ones [...]

Brian Cowen, Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore will be more uncomfortable tonight than simply for losing an election. In their own ways they will each feel the pressure of having to face the fallout of a no vote. While it is easy to explain the no as a rejection of the entire establishment, that explanation [...]

The people of the country have spoken, for good or ill. That must be respected.
Accordingly, I do not want to see another referendum - the outcome of this one must be heeded. The people are sovereign. The Constitution, deeply flawed as it is, governs this country over anything else; it is the source of power [...]

He was speaking after the no vote and it was very brief. Barroso though did point up the major EU talking point over the next couple of days.
18 States have approved the Treaty and the remaining ratifications should continue their course. European institutions will continue to work delivering for citizens of Europe.

At various points this morning, Dermot Ahern former Foreign Affairs Minister, Micheal Martin current foreign affairs minister and Enda Kenny leader of Fine Gael have said that the vote is now almost certainly a ‘no’.
Martin on RTE Radio: “when you are explaining your losing” “its not looking good for the Yes side”
Dermot Ahern: “from my [...]

Whatever the result in the referendum later - and at this stage it looks like a no - recriminations and blame will be handed out over the nature of the yes campaign. The first evidence of this was a while back when Cowen wanted Fine Gael to up their game. Today we see more of [...]

Wednesday’s Irish Independent is a case-in-point for those of us who suspect the press of siding with the Establishment against the people over Lisbon. With jobs losses growing by the week, they cynically attempt to link the issue to the possibility of a “No” vote to the June 12th referendum. This article is pure facile [...]

Ruth Dudley Edwards is blogging the Referendum at The Specatator and her initial post is, as ever, thought provoking.
It’s largely a class thing.  The posh are pro and those in fear of bad times are anti.  If – as looks likely – it’s a No, it’ll be the politicians wot lost it.
I think that is [...]

Thomas Byrne TD will be familiar to blog readers. The newly elected TD competed via blog and on the ground with Dominic Hannigan for votes last May. Anyhow, turns out his former speciality was solicitor specialising in EU law and in a public message on the blog he is inviting voters (I doubt he could be that picky [...]

There is a poll in tomorrow’s Irish Times on Lisbon: Yes 30% No 35% Undecided/wont vote: 35%
Get the spin and recrimination ready if it does go down:
A clear majority of Fine Gael voters are now against the Treaty by 40 per cent to 30 per cent, while among Labour voters there has been a massive [...]

It seems to me over the past week that the polls have this wrong so far, allegorically I have met people who are steadfastly committed to voting no (people I would not have put down for that) in larger proportion than the polls suggest. I wonder if this time there is a chance that the [...]

Pat Phelan has a horror post about Mrs. Phelans mammogram appointment. After going to the doctor for an appointment she recieved the letter from the HSE (here) for an appointment in 2010.The conclusion though;
Anyways money changed hands, job done, Mrs Phelan is healthy as a horse.
Dont depend on the Irish health care system to save [...]

So Brian Cowen continues to slowly dismantle the Bertie Ahern machine (on which note, anyone see a Fianna Fail ‘Yes’ poster with Cowen’s face on it?). The announcement that the construction industry wont be dining in Ballybrit will be greeted with delight in the offices of the Green Party and Finian McGrath as a potential [...]

Later today Fianna Fail will host a discussion on globalisation and the Lisbon Treaty which should be interesting in itself. Farming issues will no doubt be front and centre as the WTO deadline has been extended and the effect of EU on that area up in the air. Beyond that there are issues of jobs, [...]

An interesting clash of interpretation on the widely discussed style of the new Taoiseahc. For Pat Leahy the new style is “clear thinking and firm decision-making”. For the Sunday Indo, it is “authoritarian” and “stalinist”. An enigmatic man.

Irish TImes Poll this morning has FF at 42%, FG at 26%, Lab at 15%, SF 6% , GP 4% and PD 1%
And why wouldn’t 42% of the country consider voting for a man not shy of belting out a few songs?