Election 2007

[LeviathanNI]

I wpuld say the PD's are the kind that would pick up lots of transfers... and I suppose with the media coverage they are getting, they are staying fresh in he electorates mind.

[dahamsta]

Surprised that Labour are still a strong second here, with FG down below SF and the Greens. Very odd results. Must have another poll in a week or so.

adam

[Ringo]

Maybe we could have a few polls. Bertie V Enda for Taoiseach or alternative governments. How many people polled will actually go out and vote on the day.

[BohsPartisan]

How many people would rather stick their arm in a mincer than vote for FF, PD's or FG.

[OneRedArmy]

How many people would rather stick their arm in a mincer than vote for FF, PD's or FG.

Both arms.

Then my head.

[Clifford]

How many people would rather stick their arm in a mincer than vote for FF, PD's or FG.

Everything but my todger would go in before I'd give them a vote.

How people still fall for that bumbling clown is beyond me, a cartoon character at best, radio roy's finest mickey take. Good grief.

[pete]

How many people would rather stick their arm in a mincer than vote for FF, PD's or FG.

Same question could be asked of SF.

I read they have done u-turn on Corporation tax (no increase) yet they policy is for tax harmonisation with NI. Given the UK government decide their tax rates can't see a government in Dublin can produce that (assuming not going to increase to their levels)

Other hair brained schemes include Nationalising Aer Lingus & creating a State oil & gas exploration company.

Best of all SF have zero costings for their Manifesto.

[BohsPartisan]

Other hair brained schemes include Nationalising Aer Lingus & creating a State oil & gas exploration company.

Given what has happened since the privatisation of Aer Lingus it should be renationalised and the perpetrators of that robbery jailed.
On an oil & gas exploration company, too right! Our natural resources have been ripped off by the multinationals for long enough. Its no accident that countries who had State Oil companies also had the best health services.

Best of all SF have zero costings for their Manifesto.

Costings is a particular obsession with you Pete and its an absolute Red Herring. Now in the case of SF, there is no need as they won't be implementing any of this for the simple reason that they are a reformist party who have continuosly shifted to the right over the last few years. If they go into a coalition government all this would be abandoned. However if you had a national oil and gas company it would more than pay for itself while at the same time providing funding for health, education etc. As an example of how valuable fuel revenue can be READ THIS

Chavez and Venezuelan oil

More on Venezuelan Oil

[Macy]

Other hair brained schemes include Nationalising Aer Lingus & creating a State oil & gas exploration company.

No problem with either. Much rather a state company found the oil and gas as opposed to the current situation of selling the rights for buttons, with no price or supply benefit at the end. So re-nationalising a state company that was putting millions into the exchequer and setting up a company that could see us have billions of euro of scarce resources under our own control. Frankly, if thats the hair brained schemes then must be a fairly good policy document!

[bennocelt]

creating a State oil & gas exploration company.
:

That actually makes a lot of sense

[pete]

If the state had an extra 500m to 1billion hanging around I think it could be better spent than buying Aer Lingus. Will the staff who were paid huge sums to give up public status be handing that back too?

I don't think anyone has suggested we have similar oil & gas supplies to the UK or Venezuelan. Its all very well setting up such a company when you have large reserves but such a state company would still need to pay the going rate for exploration as opposed to somewhere like Norway weher they have two state companies.

Exploration Costs

Trying to source oil and gas around Ireland has been like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but in recent years companies are showing renewed optimism about possible finds. Since the 1960s, 121 exploration wells have been drilled in Ireland, resulting in just four commercial finds. This makes the odds of a find worse than 30 to 1, compared with odds of 3 to 1 in gas and oil rich areas off Norway.
The cost of exploring for and extracting gas from the seas around Ireland are also among the highest in the world.
In Norway, the average water depth for wells is less than 200 meters and an exploration well costs about Û8 million.
The last two exploration wells drilled in Ireland’s waters were 1,500 meters deep and cost about Û20 million each.

I apologise for looking at political parties to cost their Manifestos.

(i don't want to drag this off into Corrib gas debate so leave it at that).

[BohsPartisan]

If the state had an extra 500m to 1billion hanging around I think it could be better spent than buying Aer Lingus.

Get your shocked smiley ready Pete, because I wasn't suggesting buying it back. I was suggesting taking it back.


As for the costs of exploration:
€600 Million was given to national toll roads for the M50 toll bridge. This should have been taken without compensation or If the state had taken out a loan and built the thing itself in the first place it would have cost around 50 million. That is only one example out of many of a chronic waste of money that could have been diverted elsewhere.

[pete]

Get your shocked smiley ready Pete, because I wasn't suggesting buying it back. I was suggesting taking it back.

Adam, can we have a new smiley please? (sound of pete choking on afternoon coffee)

[Dodge]

Adam, can we have a new smiley please? (sound of pete choking on afternoon coffee)

Fecking private sector "workers" swanning around drinking coffee all day

[pete]

Fecking private sector "workers" swanning around drinking coffee all day

At my desk on a break.

[Dodge]

Another break...

[kingdom hoop]

87 votes cast out of an electorate of 4000; 2% turn out suggests apathy reaching a nadir. Maybe it's time a plebiscitary approach was taken

To quote some chap called Einstein; "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Though maybe most members here are under 18 and feel the poll would give a false indication

[TonyD]

I've a feeling apathy will decide the Election...

Who cares.

[superfrank]

It's fair to say that elections always bring out the odd kook who runs for election on a whim. The following is from the Wicklow Times today. It had a little column on all nineteen candidates in the Wicklow/East Carlow constituency and one of the stand out characters was this one.

Jim Tallon (Independent)

"Not a lot is known about the policies of James Tallon, a framer (I assume it's a typo for farmer) from Emoclew on the outskirts of Arklow. He lists 'Film Director' as his occupation and when our photographer went to his home to capture his image he displayed some 'animal magic'. Opening the window he whistled to the robins outside who immediately flew in to him!
He has been involved in a number of controversial incidents in the past. When making an appearance in the District Court charged with threatening a builder by throwing stones at his digger, he gave his address as 'Independent Republic of Glasnost' but he said he had been the victim of a military coup.
He is not without resources however having declined an offer of £4.5 million in the past for his 35 acre far."

Later in the paper it gives the addresses of all politicians and his house is actually named 'Glasnost'.

I will post where his results after the election. I'm intrigued to see how he does.

[pete]

It's fair to say that elections always bring out the odd kook who runs for election on a whim.

There is a guy in Cork South Central (Morgan) running on a 9/11 conspiracy issue.

Anyone know how many signatures you need to be nominated for election?