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

ITs a good week for Red C to take the latest tracking poll for the Sunday Business Post. Markets are falling like stones (Friday has the potential to be another massive dead cat bounce) and the government don’t look to have stamped authority on many aspects of policy.

The first poll after the Lisbon result comes with little by way of surprise. The Sunday Business Post/Red C poll finds the Irish electorate looks unlikely to have engaged in a mass volte face with regard to the major parties after Lisbon.
Fianna Fail 40% (unchanged)
Fine Gael 25% (-3)

In a great day for Irish and European democracy, the Irish people, on a higher turnout than Nice II, rejected the illegitimate and anti-democratic Lisbon Treaty by 53.4% to 46.6%. In doing so, they have struck a blow for freedom and against remote, unaccountable and undemocratic rule by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. They have shown [...]

In a packed Dail chamber, Brian Cowen was elected Taoiseach of Ireland after a vote to choose between him, Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore. The vote was won by 88 to 76.
He was nominated by Bertie Ahern himself however it only became quite raucous as Mary Harney seconded Cowen’s nomination and defended the government’s record [...]

What they spent Report on disclosure of donations and election expenses at Dáil general election of 2007.
Breakdown
Fianna Fáil €3,650,240.55.

Fine Gael €2,809,474.25
The Labour Party €1,477,321.48
Progressive Democrats €1,012,707.52
Non-Party €795,862.25
Sinn Féin €685,095.66
The Green Party €553,858.70
Socialist Party €56,125.49
The Workers Party €30,200.14
Christian Solidarity Party €11,427.06

The report of the 2007 Consituency Commission is out, some would say a little bit too late but how and ever. Kerry is to remain split, with Kerry South a 3 seater while Kerry North joins to West Limerick in also remaining a 3 seater. Dublin Euro is a 3 seater, Dun Laoghaire is a [...]

Vote began at 4:20 
Sinn Fein oppose the time-limiting of the Taoiseach’s appointment. Tom Kitt announced a guillotine of the nominations to 16:30. Caoimhghin O Caoilain calls for an extended debate, “we have been returned from our constituencies and have a right to have our opinion heard”. He makes the request to the Whip and Taoiseach [...]

The drunk and the powerful came together, they came with their wives and their fans, they slapped backs and winked at each other for they knew what so many had denied for so long - that Fianna Fail was going to win the 2007 general election. They gathered in groups of two and three, these [...]

Released just after seven o clock this morning on Morning Ireland, the RTE Exit Poll with Landsdown Marketing. Main findings below (expect analyis later).
Margin of error 2.5% (in 2002 it was effectively 1% between FF and FG)
Fianna Fail on 41.6% almost = to 2002
Fine Gael up 4% to 26.3%
Labour 9.9% down 1%
PDs down to 2.6%
Greens [...]

We are still running the floating voter poll on the sidebar so if you have not already voted please do.
But already almost half have said that they are floating voters. So to all them here is my reason why to vote the PD’s. There are three parties I have ruled out supporting. Sinn Fein [...]

Irish Anarchist Organistion, the Workers Solidarity Movement, today launched a campaign to encourage public understanding of our democratic system in the run up to the general election. The campaign will focus on groups such as young people, the working class and ethnic minorities, who have a history of high rates of abstention.
The campaign launched with [...]

The Socialist party have launched their manifesto. Stating they wish to be the real opposition. They don’t seem to have it in pdf form. (Probably something about corporations) but the policies are here. Can’t find any costings however.

From RTE, its neck and neck. It could go either way and, once again, Betie’s payments didn’t matter a jot outside the Dublin 4 beltway and areas of the internet (including here).
Results:
FF 36% (+2)
FG: 28% (-3)
Labour: 13% (+3)
Sinn Fein: 10% -
Green: 5% (-1)
PD: 2% (-1)
Independent/SP: 6%

I set out tonight to focus in on blogs from left-wing candiates, but first a quick mention of
Thomas Byrne, FF candidate for Meath East, who got into a bit of a tizz with Mary Hanafin over the issue of education and autism. His comments were reported in the Drogheda Indo, while Thomas gets to grips [...]

FF 34 (-3)
FG 31 (+5)
Lab 10 (-1)
Greens 6 (-2)
PD 3 (+2)
SF 10 (+1)
Ind 6 (-2)
The poll was conducted over last Monday and Tuesday from a representative sample of 1,000 voters at 100 sampling points across the country and in particular after the parties had all published the key economic aspects of their manifestos. Tomorrow’s Irish [...]