Leo's pulled the plug

[MotherForkinShirtBalls]

Who are you going to vote for, the rock of FF or the hard place of FG? As someone with no more qualifications than reading the paper most days, I doubt labour will return this time round and I think the social democrats are a bit too fluffy to gain a real foothold. Wouldn't surprise me if SF gained significantly.

www.thejournal.ie/election-day-4965156-Jan2020/

Greens haven't made enough noise since they did so well at the MEP elections which is a shame as I really don't want to give any of the other eejits a vote.
I'm thinking the Saturday vote in a bid to get the students onside will result in lower turnout all round.

I didn't even think the greens! I'd be surprised if the Euro result translated, the basics of housing and health will completely overwhelm the green agenda, imo.

I wish they'd ban the political posters.
Looking at their faces just makes me angry.
There is no sanction for bad behaviour in Ireland - either political or financial bad behaviour. Politicians/ civil servants/ senior bankers etc - no consequences.

I'll vote Labour even though I'm in a FG stronghold.

I think FF and FG will pay a high price in Dublin for their inaction over the housing crisis. There's been lots of handwringing but very little done in terms of changing housing policy. It's probably less of an issue outside of Dublin.

How come that good quality homes were built by Dublin Corporation in the post war era despite Ireland being p*ss poor in areas like Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Crumlin and Cabra ?
Yet in a far richer Ireland now, we have a dreadful housing crisis !

The housing crisis is depressing - there is no need for it, just build more houses. Also, having lived in Dublin throughout the crash, it is so weird that we had an oversupply and then all of a sudden, we have a shortage. I think all potential housing sites (brownfield sites, over the shop premises, adding an additional story) in the Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick city areas should be made available for housing by fair means or foul (ie incentivise the owner or punish them with tax).

However, there is no protest vote this time around (unlike the water protest) where people can coalesce around one point and therefore, I predict losses for Independents and far left (PBP etc).

But it could switch from FF propping up FG to FG propping up FF.

I canvass for FG but I am disappointed in Leo (I had higher hopes but I would have preferred someone older and I dislike his focus on his young team of yes men) and really all of the woke agenda has me screaming inside - it really is only ever the economy stupid.

Oh, and the lack of social housing is also a direct result of the liberal right-wing politics of western societies, Thatcherite policies, and a restrictive credit environment for governments in the EU (the EU don't like governments building social housing).

Politicians rewarding themselves with pay rises in this climate is shameful. Our politicians (especially main characters of FF and FG) have been shameful for years. I think George Lee's experience was depressing.

I'm in Dublin Bay South which is Eoghan Murphy's constituency so definitely won't be giving a preference to FG unless I vote all the way down the paper. I think I'll give my first and second to Labour and the Greens and I'm undecided past that. I'm also not sold on the SocDems but I might give them my third preference. It's just sickening seeing the flowers for the man mangled when his tent was removed along the canal right next to a campaign poster for Eoghan Murphy at the next lamppost.

It will be interesting to see where SF transfers go. I suspect there will be regional trends. I can see the Greens doing well in Dublin.

I think Leo is all style over substance.
Annasgirl I agree with you that he surrounds himself with a young team of yes men and the woke agenda
It will be interesting to see how FG do as Leo wasnt voted into his position by the party faithful.
I will never vote for Fianna Fail after the pain they put so many through from 2008 on with their lax regulation and no consequences.
I'm disgusted Stephen Donnelly went over to the dark side.
I don't vote along party lines. I vote for individuals.

I will never vote for Fianna Fail after the pain they put so many through from 2008 on with their lax regulation and no consequences

Absolutely! And that slieveeen Bertie with his big unfortunate mug poking out of cupboards in the NOTW ads afterwards! Not a bit of humility in him or his ilk. Politics worldwide seems to be sorely lacking decent leaders these days. It really is not enough that Leo shows up well next to Trump and Boris. Lower the bar enough and anyone can look good.

But the problem is, I really can't see the difference between FG and FF in their equally sleeveen ways. In reality, what separates them other than history? Labour/Doc Dems/Greens don't have enough support to oust them.

I'm in Dunlaoghaire. Thank God we don't have Maria Bailey this time round, but we have Mary Hanafin who just refuses to go away. The Greens will do well here but I don't think the Soc Dem candidate will break out of her bubble.

I'm surprised Finian McGrath and John Halligan are standing down. Finian in particular had such a strong personal vote it'll be interesting to see where it falls. Stephen Donnelly strikes me as a careerist who will go wherever there's a front bench seat for himself.

We are supposed to be a progressive country. Leo is only out for himself and his cronies. Housing is a shambles back in the bad old days we built lots of houses. Hospitals are a disgrace to even get on a trolley is a miracle. A and E times 12 hours +.Our population is increasing but hospital beds decreased. Crime is out of control. Taxes are crippling. It is hard to know the outcome of this election .One shower is as bad as the other. This used to be a lovely place to live and bring up children. I think Simon Coveny would be a better leader of Fg but I predict a low turnout for a February election. I am fed up listening to how great our economy is and what great Europeans we are while we are setting up food stations throughout Dublin and across the country. The French went wild over raising pension age to 64 while ours will be 68!

I'm very undecided on who to vote for in the election.

I will never vote for FF after what they did to the country and how they bankrupted the country and as far as I'm concerned they've got blood on their hands after so many people took their own lives in the aftermath of the collapse.

Micheal Martin was on of FF's key ministers cabinet table yet he's acquires amnesia about his role in running the country into the ground.

The majority of FFers are anti social change, some of their current TDs are anti democratic and were very vocal against even having the abortion referendum.

I dislike Leo and think he's only out for himself and his posh boy cronies. For a so called intelligent man he has a habit of making regular gaffs. He has no empathy with anyone. Definitely style over substance.

If I were any of his family especially on his mother's side after what happened his Waterford granny I'd have nothing to do with him as he's still allowing the lack of cardiac care in the South East and people dying because they have to be transported in an ambulance from Waterford to Cork so not getting prompt treatment.

The one positive for FG is that they brought about social change and had the marriage equality and abortion referendums but I don't think that's enough for them to lead the country.

I don't think the Greens will do as well as they did in the European elections, hopefully not anyway.

I cannot see Labour doing well either, Alan Kelly and whining Joan Burton are enough to turn people off them.

I think this election with be a case of rearranging the seats on the Titanic.

Maybe the Titanic is a good analogy - but hopefully it isn't.

The timing of the election is great. Campaign while still getting decent marks for handling of the Brexit border issue but before the Brexit shit hits the fan. The iceberg is still ahead in the fog.

Micheál Martin has a brass neck. He was part of that atrocious government led by Bertie. Amnesia is right honeyrider.
But I think amnesia is an Irish trait. We forget all too easily Labour's nepotism and the corruption of FF and FG.

@Taytocrisps I am genuinely shocked that you think the house crisis isn't a major issue outside of Dublin. No idea who I will vote for but we had the delight of Willie O Dea getting in early with his posters so I can't go ten paces without him looking down at me. Something should definitely be done about election posters in general the amount around the place is beyond ridiculous . We had our first canvassers around today for FG but thankfully I avoided them as I was heading out for a pre school collection

Posters should be banned.
End of.
What is the Green Party policy on election posters ?

Well I prefer posters to listening to them all bleat on on the radio - I switch off the TV or the radio when a panel of politicians comes on. I read somewhere to-day that the Communications Clinic has ruined politics and I think that is true, no one answers a question, they all spout stats (and I say this as a current affairs junkie) and I think it must turn off the population in general.

The thing is, I am quite right wing economically and liberalish socially but I think politicians need to be honest with the population - we simply cannot afford to keep increasing spending on health in line with the increasing age of the population and the availability of ever costly medicine (there is a great international book about this issue at the moment which was reviewed in last week's Sunday Times, it is an issue every government has to face).

Also, housing needs to be build and land compulsorily acquired but also people cannot keep objecting to the building of housing in their area (my local residents association does this all the time, without our approval so I have stopped my payments to them).

Finally, we all need to face up to the fact that we will all be retiring later, the increased lifespan of people was not considered when the age of retirement was set at 65 (in the 19th century when people usually died within 5 years of retiring). I think the current generation of retirees are the last of the golden age - we, like in all other aspects, will have to get used to a lower standard of retirement and working longer for less return.

The greens didn't have any posters up in my constituency in the locals/Euros iirc.

I looked up all my sitting TDs the other day. It's depressing. There was quite a significant problem in our area last year and only one of the the five TDs got back to us - but he campaigned for No in the abortion referendum.

So I'll go green, all the crazy left wingers, independents (provided they aren't nuts), then Labour. I won't give a vote to FG this time round - I have given them a preference way down the list from time to time - and I can't vote FF (TD actually asked me if I do any "private work" wink wink nod nod) or SF.

I like Micheál Martin well enough but I think he'll be thrown out by the FF brown envelope brigade as soon as there's a whiff of a chance of re-election. In some kind of back-stabby way. I much prefer him to Leo Varadkar. He did the smoking ban and the plastic bag charge iirc.

Simon Coveney seems grand. Varadkar seems like a bit of a fool to me. I know he must be politically astute to be in the position he's in but I find it hard to see how he got there.

I think the RIC debacle will lose FG votes, and so will the homeless crisis. I can see Sinn Féin increasing their seats, and the Greens. I think Labour are going to be much of a muchness, some loss to the greens I'd say.

I think the vote will be polarised. FG & FF vs Left Wing.

My vote likely won't count as I'd imagine it will be FG, FF and the last seat going to SF. But I'll throw it in to make the larger parties have a wee think about their environmental policies. I'm very unimpressed about some of what's going on at county council level. There's a lot of lip service and yet in practical terms permission is being refused for tree planting and areas set aside for pollinator pathways has been concreted by the council.

I'm also quite worried about planning permissions being taken out of local authority hands despite the bitching I've just done about local authorities - there's a move backwards towards less transparency and central government making decisions. I don't think this is a good situation.

TBH I'm happy enough with FG, just not a fan of Leo, I think they are a disgrace about the homelessness and high rents, and I didn't mind my own TD till I realised about the abortion ref. I'm anti abortion myself on a certain level but do I fuck think anyone has a right to decide what's best for any woman. I had a horrific miscarriage myself and looking back at it I think I was very lucky with (a) the young woman doctor who didn't stop to check for a heart beat but acted fast to stop the bleeding, and (b) that there was no heartbeat when they checked.

I don't think FF would have acted any faster about the homelessness tbh. We can't be having too many houses being built in case property prices don't rise as fast and landlords don't make as much rent, can we?

I think the Greens are happy to have posters up where they have a decent chance, like there's loads of Eamon Ryan here in DBS and he's apparently likely to top the poll. I don't know about constituencies where they don't have as big names running. It'll be interesting to see how well Saoirse McHugh does and if the Euros bounce carries over.

All those promises, promises.
I just swithch off now when politicians are on tv or radio.