Irish politics discussion thread

Ms Villiers said: "I think that the bilateral relationship is better than it has been at any time in the last 800 years.

fine talk from a woman known to harbour murderous thoughts towards puppies

lest anyone be under any illusions about quinn and his supporters

Representations on behalf of a number of international investment groups owed hundreds of millions of euro from the former Quinn Group have been made at government level about ongoing criminal attacks on the business.
US concerns such as the $3.2 billion hedge fund and private equity group Strategic Value Partners, global investment group GSO Blackstone, the Prudential financial services group, and a US teachers’ pension fund are among those on whose behalf concern has been expressed to Minister for Justice Alan Shatter and his counterpart in Belfast, David Ford.
Some of the investor groups have offices in Ireland and have other significant investments in the Irish economy.
The extensive damage caused by a burnt-out truck at the staff restaurant opposite the Quinn Group HQ in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh in December 2011. Photograph: Lorraine TeevanConspiracy of silence imperils rebuilding of Quinn Group
Online campaign says it does not condone sabotage or vandalism
A structured proposal for the former Quinn Group manufacturing companies will be ready “within days”, a director of a company set up to buy them has said. Photograph: Brenda FitzsimonsStructured proposal for Quinn firms to be ready ‘within days’
The former Quinn Group of industrial businesses, now called the Aventas Group, has seen almost 70 attacks on its operations on the Fermanagh-Cavan border since a share receiver was appointed to the group three years ago on behalf of the former Anglo Irish Bank.
Last month, both the Belfast-headquartered Lagan Group, which was going to buy Quinn Rooftiles from Aventas, and Ceva, an international logistics group that was going to enter into an outsourcing arrangement with Quinn Cement, pulled out of the proposed deals following campaigns of intimidation.
Lagan chairman Kevin Lagan received a letter saying that if the sale went ahead, the buyers “would not live to see the benefits of the sale”. He received the letter on the day his wife died.

Series of attacks

A series of attacks included setting fire to machinery and vehicles in Lagan premises in counties Cork and Down, causing an estimated €1 million worth of damage.
Ceva’s decision to pull out of a proposed arrangement to operate trucking services for the former Quinn Group was announced after a van filled with inflammable substances was set alight at a Ceva premises in Little Island, Cork.
The attacks and intimidation recorded by the Aventas management on the businesses outside Derrylin include vehicles being set on fire, key parts of the manufacturing process being sabotaged, senior management being tailed when driving from the former Quinn premises, senior management receiving threats by phone, text and mail, and a truck being driven into the workers’ canteen.

they haven't gone away you know.

Was reading similar earlier. Very depressing.

guys

who the hell would you even vote for

all well and good to say greens but they voted for the bailout on condition that fur farming ended in donegal and i've not forgiven em yet.

carry on fg/lab?

is there anyone willing to launch a case for PBP or anyone down there

anyone forgiven FF? or can look beyond the obvious two things with SF?

shatter gone

Too little too late for locals if say.

What are odds of Ming making it to Europe?

Did you read that about Greens voting for water charges because they expected Labour to reverse it FFS.

If it were a general election I'd be clueless. Right now it's Labour as councillor and TD organised walking history tour of area and I'm easily bribed.

say it ain't so deems

(but srsly i'm curious how accurate you think this is - some of the commenters on the piece vehemently disagreed)

Don't see any evidence in the article that support for Palestine or anti-Semitism are "increasing". As the author says, a majority of Irish people who take a side take the Palestinian side - but this has been the case for a long time.

idk what to say to ya man, we been occupied til lately we didn't like it. I'm not sure most ppl have read or thought deeply into it.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BogNOjlIUAA5yEj.jpg

smdh

http://irishelectionliterature.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/ming97.jpg

this guy

ahem, this *fuckin* guy

but gone from dail

088 jaysus

like a fuckin brick iirc

Gilmore out

yeah

idk

idk

I mean he was no replacement for rabbitte tbh and Quinn better than either but it'll prob be Burton and idk

stupid knee jerk reaction. twere best done at Christmas after a decent pause.

Don't really know what the popular sentiment is but I'd have guessed that the Labour frontbench as a whole is unpopular, rather than just Gilmore? Like, what replacement is going to save them in the next election if they stay in government and allow SF/lefties to continue gobbling all the working-class votes?

otm

conversation with enda-

we're being killed out there, take some heat or spend money we don't have

no

then I quit

send the next one in on yr way out thks

Who is going to lead Labour now? Howlin? He's old guard though so probably not.

Thought Howlin was the most hated of the lot of them?

depends who you ask.

see it down to Quinn or Burton.

a right cunt

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0526/619719-fitzpatrick/

Burton has to put money where mouth is. I have time for her though so hopefully will live up to expectations of some backbone in labour.

Some real duds going to Europe. Their loss is our gain...

her going for it now means no budget or she loses all credibility.

I've no time for her tbh. out of all front benchers she's been the one making cheap political capital by fucking around with false promises and positions she knows to be impossible.

Maybe. I was a bit taken aback at stroke pulled by White before announcing candidature.

It's interesting having all the independents in locals. Will that have an effect on the process of budgets locally, etc. They can't be ignored and it'll be interesting to see how those decisions will be made.

Lots of interesting in tham thar politics...

I haven't seen the figures but I'm going sure they can and will be ignored, which is a better alternative to their gumming up the works with their vanity projects, the majority of which are either out of scope for councillors or are populist disasters.

yes minister is obv a dramatisation (the minister is too intelligent and civically minded, for starters) but my experience is def that the tension btwn a professional and relatively entrenched body of servants immune to the whim of the elected talking heads may not serve democracy brilliantly but is p much a huge boon to actually running the councils, cities and towns with any vestige of sanity or coherence. that's p much my sum total thoughts on councils of any level.

feel free to disagree on Burton obv I only bite depending on the personal digs, and only then if they're lacking style.

Joan Burton is surely the most hated woman in Irish politics right now

idk is there any competition tbf

Most hated person in general perhaps

I would say not top 5

Gilmore, hogan, Reilly def miles ahead, and I'd imagine plenty of ff heads would raise more ire if they dared open their mouths.

Maybe you're right. I was passing through Crumlin earlier and was surprised to see Sinn Fein handing out leaflets. Candidate was there and he'd been voted in. Very weird but hey, it's all about party profile at the moment.

Think Hannafin may be more unpopular than Burton going by hames made of her candidacy.

Burton is alright imho if perhaps a bit institutionalised. I don't know that she's actually done anything at all since appointed.

P4t R4bb1tt3 on Marian again. Why always him? Also 5h4n3 R055. Ego squabbles for the mic 1 2...

on what

Finucane on R1. Gave up, too much political waffle.

This is a first for us, www.ionainstitute.ie but we are urgently seeking people who will be willing to sit in a studio audience tomorrow night for the Vincent Browne show.

Every Wednesday night is an audience -only debate format and the topic this time is same-sex marriage and Irish attitudes to gay people generally.

If you are willing to be part of the audience, you don’t have to utter a word unless you want to, just clap at appropriate moments!

Paddy Manning will be one of the main people arguing against same-sex marriage. No doubt he will appreciate having some people on his side even if it is only small minority of those in the studio.

The show wants people out to the TV3 studios by 7pm for an 8pm start. It will all be over by 10pm.

If you can go please let us know asap. If you can, bring a friend! Lots of audience tickets are still available

I mean.....

xp serves u right tbph

where the fuck is ionaleaks when you need it

just clap at the appropriate moments!

when yr firstborn son tells u he blows tramps for kicks, how's that for an appropriate moment

didn't a fella eat the Iona institute at Christmas? confused.

maybe when someone says how their son killed himself due to institutional & cultural homophobia?

whatever it is you may be sure the ionese won't be clapping it

fuck me

Vinny b show reminding me that outside of ilx I'm a proper liberal these people are fucking appalling monsters

Vinny letting far too much go here

fuck every one of these cunts til they die

I didn't expect to agree with a single one of em but Jesus Christ I reckoned on a fuckin debate at least. this is pitiful.

iona? how many are there?

idk if they're all Ion a but fucks sake they're there in equal numbers and the drivel my god its the most awful circular arguing I've heard in idk when.

Investigate the funding! Are they genuinely an Irish lobbying group if majority funded from US?

Very sad about the 800 in Tuam. No matter how Iona are at least they're a minority (surprisingly prominent though) and as a society I do think we've come very far. Obviously still a bit further to go.

Reilly is snookered looks like.

DMac, ILX libertarian, IRL liberal.