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

Part of the Sinn Fein Manifesto is this The experience of Norway where the mineral exploration sector has become one of the engines of economic growth proves the benefits of state involvement in the natural resources sector in particular. Earnings from oil and gas contribute almost one third of state revenue in Norway. In contrast, [...]

They are back to old form, not bothering with the online version. So we are stuck with a press release. Much of this is in the manifesto from last Sunday. “Crucially, we believe that environmental sustainability can be delivered in a way that doesn’t damage the economy,” he [McDowell] said. To be fair, they have [...]

A while back the Corrib Gas was a big topic here and here. But is it going to come back? Frank Little of the Ceder Lounge brings the  topic back with response to a story in the Tribune that Statoil is looking at a new field in Mayo possibly bigger then Corrib.  For such a [...]

Simon has been harping on about cars and power stations for ages and he might just have to vote labour for it. They released their environment policy earlier today (well, yesterday at this rate) with a couple of eye-catching proposals which I think are a good idea. Bertie has already stressed the “fourth level” factor [...]

I have been meaning to get back to the Manifesto Checking of the Government parties. But I have been busy. However here is a quick comparrison of where the Greens Labour and Fine Gael disagree. Eirgrid.

It is nice to see when something you talked about happens. From Ireland.com State may put tax on standard light bulbs

The Russian’s have succeeded in bullying a country into changing their policies by using oil and gas as a weapon. While alot of lip service is given to the topic of energy security very little is done about it. The only way for Ireland to secure energy security is to increase the amount of renewable’s [...]

With Fianna Fail telling us of the dangers of New nuclear power plants. What did they say in 2002 about Nuclear power. Lets check the manifesto Use the OSPAR process, the Euratom Treaty and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to continue to challenge nuclear operations at Sellafield on economic, legal, environmental [...]

All has been quiet here for the last few days; the Christmas period taking its toll on our contributors. But the countdown to the election continues nonetheless and issues remain. It seems again the government’s shortsightedness over electricity generation in this country is going to come back and bite us in the ass: IDA warns [...]

Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed / A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed / Then one day he was shootin at some food / And up through the ground came a bubblin crude. Oil that is, black gold, Texas T. Sadly for us, no one in Ireland is [...]

From the Green Party: The Green Party has called for the terms of the exploration rights of gas and oil off the Irish coast to be redrafted. The Party passed a policy calling for new terms at a recent meeting of its National Council. [...] While the Government and the main opposition parties continue to [...]

Following events in Rossport yesterday, a narrative has emerged of violent protests including the use of a car as a battering ram. Comments from contributors to this site have thrown accusations at Shell To Sea, accusing them of attacking ‘busloads of workers,’ ‘committing criminal damage,’ and possibly using a car as a ram to injure [...]

RTE News is reporting that the Gardai baton-charged a group of protesters. Update: Breaking News says one person has been injured. Update: Sinn Fein statement: Ferris criticises Garda handling of Bellanaboy protest; Greens Sargent appeals for calm as violence flares in Bellanaboy. Update: Labour Face to face talks needed at Bellanaboy, Fine Gael Update: RTE [...]

The publication of the Stern Report in the UK today has pushed the environment to centre-stage yet again, however it’s fair to say that the topic had been at the top of the agenda before this event anyway. In Britain, the green-shift in Tory focus under David Cameron has been the greatest evidence of this, [...]

As reported in today’s Irish Independent, an opinion poll by conducted by Public Opinion Ltd. for The Mayo Advertiser has found that 45% of voters in Mayo support the Shell To Sea campaign to have the terminal moved offshore, with 15% supporting Shell and 40% having no opinion. The opinion poll reflects the recent TNS/MRBI [...]

Hey, it is great to hear from my favourite Green, Eamon Ryan, and indeed one of my favourite politicians. He is honest, knows his stuff, and just seems genuine, unlike his colleague John “I secretly heart McDowell” Gormley. And as per usual with Mr Ryan, while I disagree with some of his points, he hits [...]