Sinn Féin in the lead! FF & FG surprised?! What do you think? Exciting or scary times?!

[Housiemousie]

I have always been a Fine Gael voter. I'm from a long line of FG voters, many active in the party, who would be horrified by how much I want Mary Lou to succeed.

I really want to like Leo. He looks the part but he's not speaking to me. I am self employed in rural Ireland and neither FF or FG have sounded like they know I or any of my family or friends exist in the 20 years I have lived here (having worked abroad for a decade post uni). I even have a soft spot for Micheál Martin (who can resist a Cork accent) But I am not a farmer so he's not representing me either.

So why is Mary Lou so appealing? I couldn't even listen to Gerry Adams. Is it the fact that because she's not northern I'm not thinking IRA? Or because we really have moved past that , or is it that we are so, so sick of the entrenched fat cats of FF and FG that anything (well, almost, you can keep Aontu) will be better?

I'd love to hear I'm not alone in finding this upcoming election more exciting than previous ones.

Apileofballyhoo Fri 14-Feb-20 23:43:37

And if either of those parties look to private enterprise to provide social housing - which they have been doing for years through rent allowance and now HAP and RAS they are just being utterly stupid. It just costs the tax payer more and more and more money.

And it enriches those who can afford to buy up properties, who then donate to any and all political parties who will maintain the status quo. Taxpayers might as well write cheques directly to the landlords.

Cacacoisfarraige

It's true that depth and quality of candidates is a problem for SF. However, I suspect that a monkey could get elected on a SF platform if another election is called in the coming year. And what matters is bums on seats in the Dail, not necessarily brains, as evidenced by many a TD from past decades and different parties.

Also, there are probably county councilors and/or wannabe candidates who failed to get selected for FF who might decide to give SF a whirl.

Agree with Sakura and Apileofballyhoo that FF need to grasp the nettle this time. It might not be there for the grasping again.

Taxpayers might as well write cheques directly to the landlords.

Exactly, math.

But do they have the courage and imagination to do something different?

I think if health care came out of your tax directly into a health fund people might be more accepting, i.e. PRSI, income tax, USC, universal health fund. Surely there are models and systems we can examine that work better than ours? How are Germany and France able to do it?

Is the compensation culture really costing the health service enormous amounts of money? I honestly don't know. I did hear a discussion before on how the refusal to admit that there's a case/fault costs an enormous amount of money as law firms argue back and forth before the usual last minute settlement.

Tbh I think just adding free GP care to a system already under strain is a big mistake. My GP is a great doctor, very thorough and very kind, but I've noticed in recent years it's more of a rush job getting you in and out and he seems increasingly stressed.

I can't even think about the children's hospital because it just makes me want to cry. I can't for the life of me understand the logic behind the location and the price other than some people must be making a fortune out of it.

I think everyone should get a limited number of free/cheap GP visits a year. Say the first one is free or has a low charge like €10, second is €20, then after that it's normal prices. It could save money as early treatment from the GP could prevent later hospital visits. Govt also need to examine how to make it attractive for GPs to stay here.

There should definitely be a time period after qualifying that you have to contribute to the system - studying medicine is heavily subsidised.

I don't know about the GP - it probably would save money if people went earlier but are there a significant amount of people that avoid going due to cost rather than reluctance of another sort? I have avoided going due to cost myself so I do understand it, but then again I've a fair idea of what's wrong, how to treat it and whether antibiotics are actually necessary or useful.

My DM has a free GP visit thing because of her age and she still just goes the same amount. Her partner doesn't even go when he should.

As I understand it, GPs are paid an annual fee for medical card and GP visit card holders, so price per visit might be outrageous at either end of the scale depending on how often a person goes. I might be wrong about that.

I would love to see the figures in black and white. I have no idea how much medical cards cost the taxpayer or how much gp visit cards cost. But I'd love to see all the figures for the whole hse.

"The thing with keeping SF out now is, unless there's a radical improvement in what people are unhappy about - I think housing, health care and child care - SF will pick up an awful lot more seats in the next GE."

Exactly. Which is precisely what SF want.
That's why they're going on about a government with FFG being a last resort and dedicating time to a left coalition which at first glance is impossible.

They're desperate but to go in to government and spend a few years dining out on the notion that the elites have once again denied the will of the people. Then grab an even bigger share when things worsen post brexit and blame it in FFG

They're fucking terrified of going in to government this time round. Their TD's beyond the front bench are little more than PTA members

Sorry for that tangent.

Well perhaps a pay back the cost of your training if you leave before 10 years of practice would help.

For too long the senior medics in the country were treated like demi gods by the nuns running the hospitals.

What's the difference between God and a consultant?

God thinks he is a consultant.

So even if that's true, you have to pick your poison now (or rather FF do). A reigned in SF now or rampant SF after the next election

I don't think it is either/or though. Yes if SF get to sit in opposition for another term with a FF/FG/Green coalition then they play to their strengths (criticising everyone but never having to deliver anything) and they clean up in the next GE. But if FF said they'd go in with them then roll on 5 years they'll maintain that they were handcuffed by FF and it was all their fault that SF couldn't deliver and then they clean up. It feels like we're damned either way.

The free GP services has put huge strain on GPs. But it is really hard for any party to roll back on what is there. If there was a nominal cost that was affordable it would (I think) have a controlling effect (ie even a tenner makes it worth considering do you really need to go whereas what's free has no value). Or if everyone got x number of reduced rate visits per year and only those with chronic conditions got the reduced rate for more appointments. The problem having started down the free care path is that everyone is afraid to stop even though GPs have been flagging the problems from the start.

When people can't get GP appointments for a number of days it adds pressure to out of hours services and when they're booked up it adds to the numbers turning up at A&E.

There's no joined up thinking. And a real problem with balancing listening to those at the coal front, and challenging the vested interests (as outlined by other posters). I really despair of fixing the health system. We put in a lot of money compared across Europe and yet is just seems to disappear.

Like other posters I can't even think about the Children's Hospital without wanting to cry. What should have been a huge achievement and step forward in the care of children has turned into a horror show of incompetence and wasted money. We don't seem to have the capacity to handle large projects. I think someone mentioned motorways above and the lack of business sense shown in how the contracts were structured. It doesn't inspire confidence for how we might handle the building projects that need to be undertaken to increase our housing stock.

With housing I think we're also in a state of over analysis paralysis. The lack of decisiveness and action is mind-boggling. We don't need to have a philosophical discussion about housing and forms of housing and cultural sensitivities about types of housing and where the history of our 3 bed semi-d with a garden comes from. We need to build. And if some of the projects are more or less successful so be it, if it gets people out of hotels and off the sofas of friends and relatives we can fine tune further down the line. By that I mean for example if we build some shared living and that turns out to not be hugely popular long-term it still serves a function whether it be as short/medium term accommodation, student accommodation, supported accommodation (of a variety of sorts whether for young or old), direct provision ... Given we are short of everything from family housing to single adult accommodation to students, tourists, direct provision, supported OAP accommodation and all in both the rental and to-buy markets everything and anything built has the potential to improve the situation. I'm not talking about building sub-standard units - but building a range of options under a range of financing models rather than trying to work out the perfect way forward.

GoldenMarigolds that's God DOESN'T think he's a consultant (in other words consultants do Think they are God)
Agreed That the system is very flawed though. As a private patient I pay huge sums and get mediocre treatment, more prompt maybe but not worthy of the €170 fee for a consultant for a 5 minute audience)

Anyway re the state of affairs of the government, does anyone else think that FG are desperate to slot themselves into the (Relatively enviable?) Position of opposition?

The waste of money makes me despair. Nobody in charge of such projects - the Childrens Hospital x2 - remember all the money spent on the Mater site, Irish Water consultans, the Dail photocopier etc, appears to give a sh*te.

I just read an article where Irish apartment owners have to pay €18000 !!! each to ensure the apartments are fire proofed enough to stop the spread of fire throughout the whole building.
These apartments were passed by an architect as complying with the regulations. The builder is long gone, the developer in NAMA apparently and the architect who signed off on the apartments has no responsibility- statue of limitations

Another reason why the Irish people voted for change - there are no consequences for flouting regulations.
The big guys get away and the little people have to pay.