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

Update: Below is a press release from Solus, the light bulb crowd about their meeting with Minister Gormley yesterday. They are not complimentary;
It was revealed today during a meeting with the Minister that his department had not put any proposals together on what lamps would be included in the ban and how he proposes to implement [...]

Pat Leahy writing in the Sunday Business Post the other day noted something that I’d missed. When talking about the ‘fate of the opposition’ parties over the next twelve months he suggested that ‘…there is [a] significant cleavage emerging between the two main opposition parties following the failure of the so-called ‘Mullingar Accord’ to deliver [...]

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

It took me a while to realise there was something very odd about the latest RedC poll in the Sunday Business Post. Sure, Fianna Fáil has dipped precipitously. Well, after the month they’ve had one would think they’d better be down, at least a bit. Provisional Licences, pay increases, the latest noises from the Tribunal [...]

Labour are going to introduce a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health Mary Harney in the Dail next week. Details of the motion are below the fold.
We ask everyone to contact their local FF/Green/Indp TDs either by phone,fax or email and ask them to support the vote of no confidence in Harney [...]

Who said this.
waste incineration is used extensively within the OECD countries and is regulated by a number of EU Directives. Irish environmental legislation, in particular the Environmental Protection Agency Act. 1992, provides for the licensing of waste incineration activities on the basis of best practicable standards, including relevant EU requirements. Licences for both industrial and [...]

I think that Harry is right in that this conference is primarily for internal consumption. Most conferences are about posturing these days but this one has more of an air of regrouping about it. Eamon Gilmore used his speech to outline that Labour’s new position politics is not all that radically different from its old [...]

Labour must be one of the biggest chicken shits in the world. They try to come across as a party of vision (or what ever buzzword they are flogging now) but in actual fact they are timid old church mice who just want everyone to like them and not take a stand on anything. Take [...]

The Labour conference started this evening at 6:30, Eamon Gilmore was due to give the opening speech but due to the death of his mother Joan Burton opened the conference. Don’t forget that this is easily the most connected party conference that has happened here and hopefully will bring others along with it. The conference [...]

So this week is national Science week and Labour conference. Science week should not just be about getting kids to do science but in this” knowledge” promoting Scientific thinking in society. Alas Labours contributions on the matter is to further the cause of mythology and falsehoods for electoral gain. On the 23th of October this [...]

Gonna be on The Last Word this evening at 5:20 or so talking about Labour’s internet plans for their conference. Harry McGee will be on too. Tune in if your around.

The Tribunals of Inquiry Bill (2005) has been put back on the order paper. The bill was introduced in late 2005 and resurrected again last year following the original leaks to the Irish Times about Bertie Ahern’s payments. The bill gives government power to rationalise the tribunals, including closing them down and comes back on [...]

Its an interesting departure no doubt about it, the Labour conference at the weekend will be all teched up. The party are hoping to integrate the internet into their conference programme with the use of ustream, twitter, flickr, online question sessions etc. Most of the conference will be streamed on UStream including Eamon Gilmore’s conference [...]

Rough details here, more as it comes out. Its mostly as you were, FF unchanged, Greens at 7%, FG unchanged while Labour loses 1%.
I suppose that it will come as a bit of a surprise to both sides as both Labour and Fine Gael could not have been happier with 1)their start to the Dail [...]

His cup overflowing with goodies, Bertie Ahern is nearly at the end of post-election patronage and reward for those who propelled Fianna Fail back into Government Buildings. Some interesting committee appointments (well, for entertainment value anyway) as Jackie Healy Rae will chair the Social and Family Affairs Committee although Beverly Flynn loses out on a [...]

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 [...]