Another Week, Another Poll

Following on from the last TNS/MRBI poll, the Sunday Business Post has a Red C poll today. It is a week early to avoid a bounce from the Fine Gael National Conference this weekend. The headline figures are:

Fine Gael 35% (+2)
Fianna Fáil 30% (+4)
Labour 14% (-1)
Sinn Féin 8% (-2)
Inds 8% (no change)
Greens 5% (-1)

The poll also showed that around half of former PD voters will vote Fine Gael.

h/t: Irish Election

Cork South Central LEA: FG running two candidates!!!

Yes, I am delighted! I attended the Cork South Central convention last Friday in Ballphehane Community Centre. I did keep people on twitter informed of the happenings at it. At the Convention both sitting Councillor Denis (Dino Cregan) and Emmet O'Halloran seeked nominations and I was delighted when we were told that we would be running two candidates, something which I had hoped for!

Best of luck to the two candidates who gave brilliant speeches on the night. Its down to hard graft and knocking no doors now!

A little info on the candidates:
Denis Cregan is a former Senator and former Lord Mayor Cork. He has been on Cork City Council since 1979 and is deeply committed to Cork and local democracy. He is best known for being the proprietor of "Dino's" a fast food chain.

Emmet O'Halloran is 26 years old and is Chairman of Turners Cross Community Association. He was appointed a Local Area Rep back in June and has worked hard since and in fact I have just got a leaflet in the door from him!

Again best of luck!

Ireland South: A look ahead

So a thread over on Machine Nation got me thinking ahead to next June's European Elections. Some parties, including the Greens, Labour and Sinn Fein have selected their candidates. FF are a foregone conclusion with FG the only major party left to select. Of course Kathy Sinnott will run again. Libertas who say it is "substantially correct" that they have registered as a European Political Party.

So who is running (in no particular order):
Labour (Party of European Socialists) are running Senator Alan Kelly from Tipperary. He was elected on the Agricultural Panel to the Seanad.

Greens (European Greens–European Free Alliance) are running Dan Boyle their leader in Seanad Eireann and Chairman. He was appointed to the Seanad following the loss of his seat in Cork South Central in the 2007 General Election.

I assume Fianna Fail (Union for Europe of the Nations) are running Brian Crowley MEP who is the leader of the UEN in the European Parliament. Brian was first elected in 1994 and has held it since.

Sinn Fein (European United Left–Nordic Green Left) are running Cllr. Toireasa Ferris, former Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council. Her father, Martin Ferris, is the Sinn Féin TD for Kerry North.

Fine Gael (European People's Party-European Democrats) still have time to decide between Colm Burke, who was co-opted to replace Simon Coveney TD, and former GAA President Sean Kelly. Burke is a former Lord Mayor of Cork with a long history of serving the people of Cork. Kelly on the otherhand will be well known around teh constituency so that convention should be interesting.

Kathy Sinnott MEP (Independence/Democracy) is also expected to run again as she currently heads up the Ind/Dem group in the European Parliament. She ran in the General Election back in 2002 and narrowly lost out on a seat in Cork South Central. She was elected to the European Parliament in 2004.

Thats all the candidates I know of. Other candidates may be announced and I will endeavor to keep this list updated!

Enda's Speech

Below is Enda's Speech that he has given in response to Budget 2009. I must say I agree with it whole heartedly!

Yesterday's budget was disgraceful in what it contained. It was deplorable in what it did not contain. And it was fascinating in the response it created. Never in my political life have I seen such a universal rejection of a budget. One by one the statements came out.

IBEC condemned the budget. ISME condemned the budget. The ICTU condemned the budget. Siptu, Aer Lingus, Ryanair, ASH, Hospital Consultants, The Irish Hotels Federation, Focus Ireland, Barnardos --- every last one of them criticised your budget. Companies, unions and interest-groups who have never before agreed, found themselves unified in universal and total rejection of a budget.

I couldn't believe that not one single agency, organisation, company or union had anything positive to say. Then one positive appeared. Just one enthusiastic response. One single, solitary organisation that welcomed the budget. It was the Construction Industry Federation.
It is good to see that you are at least consistent. In good times and bad you keep one thing constant; you may disappoint the nation, but you never disappoint the construction industry.

This government has been in power for more than ten long years. This government has claimed credit for every day that the sun shone. The sun stopped shining a long time ago, but the government was too lazy to get out of its deckchair. Too lazy. Too stale. Too arrogant. Too out of touch with the pressured lives of the mortgaged poor.

And yesterday --- yesterday, the Minister for Finance, having already likened himself to the American President who dragged his nation out of a Depression, went even further in his hubris, in his presumption, in his out-of-touch impertinence. He called for patriotism.
Patriotism. Minister, Taoiseach, Tánaiste. Instead of spending the next few days spinning this disaster to media, you should try meeting some of the people you've impoverished and punished and try telling these exhausted, frazzled men and women about the 'patriotic' action they're taking today in paying for your outrageous, reckless mistakes.

I can promise you you'll get a two-word answer from them. It's very easy for a Government that stopped listening to reality a long time ago to talk about patriotism in here. But march your high-flown words out there to the real world and you'll quickly find your discounted brand of patriotism rejected. With heavy losses.

Because the people of this nation know how badly they have been served. They know the Taoiseach and the government he struggles to lead have achieved the unbelievable - they have produced disaster out of success. They have - for the first time in the history of the state - reversed progress and condemned hardworking committed people to a lower living standard than their parents and grandparents enjoyed. That's some achievement, Taoiseach. That's some achievement, Minister.

Taoiseach, you schmoozed your way through the last four budgets - dispensing gifts of government expenditure to all and sundry, without regard to cost or consequence.

Way back in May, when you were still claiming that the fundamentals of the economy were sound - what planet were you on? - way back then, I asked you what your economic rescue plan was. You said we weren't facing Armageddon, when that clearly was what we were facing. You went on holidays. I kept asking. You came back and I kept asking. You eventually said that the plan would be revealed in the budget.

Yesterday's budget revealed no plan. Yesterday's budget fixed no fundamental problems
Yesterday's budget ensured no future. Yesterday's pick-and-mix punishment to a hardworking nation is best summed up by this morning's headline, Taoiseach. This one.

ALL PAIN BUT NO GAIN.

This is a desperate budget, introduced by a desperate government. This is panic, not policy. This is denial, not direction. The government has tried to hide its miserable performance behind the international banking crisis. It won't work, because it's not true and the people know it's not true. The international banking crisis has accelerated the decline in the Irish economy. But the decline was well underway long before the banks got into trouble.

Here are the facts, Taoiseach. Although I know you don't like dealing in facts.

- 50,000 people joined the dole queues this year - the first year of your leadership. 100,000 more will join those dismal queues next year.
- Businesses the length and breadth of this country are fighting for survival - and, as the foreclosure figures this week proved - many of them are not succeeding.
- Couples whose dream was to own their own home are now paying more for a home worth hundreds of thousands less than they paid for it.

And what did you do for those couples? You slapped a 1% levy on every bit of their shrinking incomes. You raised VAT. You increased the price of petrol so that, last night, lines of cars were drawn up outside every garage as hard-pressed workers tried to fill the tanks of their cars before that extra cost came in. You raised their motor tax. You cut what they could reclaim on their medical expenses. You added a tenner to every airplane ticket they buy. You hiked hospital charges to make it more difficult for them to bring their sick child to A&E. You reduced their mortgage relief. You reduced the relief on money they're trying to put into their pensions.

This is nothing less, A Cathaoirleach, than a declaration of war on the middle classes. That's what it is. War on the middle classes.

But it's more than war on the middle classes. It's war on the future. Take education. As a former teacher, my view of education is that it's about teaching our children not just to learn, but to think. Many parents are doing a lot of thinking today. Thinking about how they're going to pay the new third-level registration fees for their children. Yes, the rich will be fine.

But the hardpressed middle classes, the even harder-pressed less well off, will find it harder and harder now to send their children to university. So much for the claims that Ireland's future was as a knowledge economy. Like all Fianna Fail claims, it's not worth the paper it was written on. It's an election-winner, and then the people who entrusted their hopes and dreams and the future of their children to Fianna Fail find that they have to find more money, out of a diminished income, and that they're being told to think of it as patriotism.

Patriotism has been described as the last refuge of the scoundrel. Never has that statement been more true. Yesterday, my colleague, Richard Bruton, described the Budget as hitting "any family and every family, any business and every business."

Richard Bruton is right. Just as he was right, down through recent months and years, when he highlighted:

- the failure to manage soaring government expenditure;
- the failure to reform the public sector even see the need for reform,
- the danger of building spending programmes on the back of temporary tax windfalls from an overheating property market,
- the failure to take hard decisions.

Richard Bruton was not the only economic expert warning of disaster. Similar warnings came from the IMF; the OECD, the ESRI, the Central Bank. They all highlighted the fundamental structural instability of an economy built on the property market and little else. They all pointed to our over-dependence on the jobs and the one off taxes coming from construction.

The Taoiseach and his party (and his Coalition colleagues) wouldn't listen. They were doing laps of honour for the departure of Bertie Ahern and the arrival of Brian Cowen, when their primary duty was to manage the finances and security of this country for the benefit of all.

They did the laps of honour really well. (Fianna Fail will cherish the recordings of Brian Cowen singing for years to come.) They did everything else really badly. Or not at all. The end result is that taxpayers are punch drunk from project failure, from appalling, preventable waste, and from public service underperformance.

And it is not as if - even now - this has been stopped. The recent C&AG Report highlighted ludicrous waste in the HSE and in the Department of Justice (where hundred of Garda cars purchased in 2006 were left idle through 2007). Time and time again, Fine Gael has pointed to the obscene waste of public money in projects such as PPARS, e-voting, the Terracotta Army of mini managers in the HSE.

The HSE of course has been the Holy of Holies for this government. The HSE was the organisation that would break the mould of the inefficient health board system. (Just as tax cuts would break the mould of the previous recession. Minister Harney has the unique distinction of having built her political career on a narrow set of ruthlessly-pursued objectives. And the unique distinction of sitting idly by while every one of those was disassembled by a Government in which she sits.)

The HSE was set up at an unspeakable cost in reports from management consultants. And that goes on to this very day. It was set up with a structure no management consultant would ever have recommended - a highly paid kitchen cabinet to insulate the CEO from painful realities.

From the outset, it failed and failed miserably. It failed on the front line, where patients - particularly women - died as a result of incompetence. Women given false hope and false all-clears. Women at the heart of loving families who will never get over the tragedy visited on them by a system supposed to serve them. Women who believed in Mary Harney's promises and in Professor Drum's claims. God love those women. God love those families.

They didn't know the chaos, the over-populated chaos which had replaced the old health board system. They didn't know the HSE had more PR people to the square inch than stitches in a wound. They didn't know that the preservation of managers was the hidden mission of the health service under this government.

They're not around, those women whose death was hastened by HSE failure; they're not around to see this Government suddenly decide that they have a terra cotta army of irrelevant managers who must now be paid to go away. No real radical action to make the HSE perform. Just pay off some of the people who shouldn't have been there for the last several years.

No parent ever carried their desperately sick child into the saying.... "quick... for God sake ...someone.. get me a manager." No son or daughter, watching their desperately ill eighty year old mother on a trolley for days, ever wanted one of the terra cotta army of managers this government left in place within the HSE.

They wanted care. Concern. Comfort. They didn't get it. And now, they're being told that some of the money that's being taken out of their back pocket is going to pay off people who should never have been in the HSE in the first place.

At the same time, because of this Budget's doubling of the hospital charge, more and more parents are, this winter, going to look at their feverish child wondering... is it just a rash... or is it strep...... or could it be the start of meningitis? Should we go to A&E? Can we afford to go to A&E?

But then, Professor Drumm says too many people go to A&E in the first place. This man, who has presided over serial disaster, has a lot in common with this government. He never listens.
He never takes the blame. He always protects the system against those it's supposed to serve.

Perhaps because they share so much, this government has taken his figures and his views and disincentivised parents from getting the help their children need. A sorry day for a government.
A sorry day for families.

Because it says that this government is too busy mis-managing an economy to take account of the people that economy is supposed to support. The simple measure of the government's abject performance is that we are provably in a far worse place than many of our European neighbours. No country has been immune to the Banking crisis - but when the international financial tsunami broke - we were already up to our necks in a flood of the government's making. No other country has been so apathetic, so stale, so lazy in its response to the crisis.

In August, when it happened, the Spanish prime minister abandoned his holidays, instructed his ministers to do likewise, and went to work. (This was when Brian Cowen was failing to sink putts in the west of Ireland.) As a result, Spain is not in a recession. It's weathering tough times. It's weathering them with action, with innovation, with realism. But it's not in a recession.

Ireland is in a dire recession, and yesterday's Budget offered nothing in the way of light at the end of the tunnel. After the Budget, the people of this country know the promises that persuaded them to return Fianna Fail to power were an overdraft the people would have to pay back. With interest.

They know that they are poorer, right now. And will be poorer in every week of every month ahead. Not theoretically poorer. Really poorer. Poorer in a way that will hurt.

Because of this government's war on the middle classes, an ordinary PAYE worker taking home 50,000 a year loses one thousand of their income. Directly. And then faces a rake of extra costs and hidden taxes draining away at their income.
If they're lucky enough to keep their income and their job.

The people of this nation have boundless courage and an unequalled capacity to work. But this morning, they will read the details of a Budget that promises them a lowered standard of living. A seriously lowered standard of living. Some of them will be tipped into poverty. Nothing corrodes a family as does poverty brought about by circumstances they can't control.

The new income levies are precisely that. They are crude in their design and impact. Once upon a time, before they caused us major problems, we levied the banks. Now that the banks have caused us enormous problems, this government doesn't levy them at all: instead, this government slaps a levy on the mortgaged poor. This government rewards initiative, commitment and hard word by a crude and open theft of the worker's hard-earned cash.

Now, in fairness, I have to acknowledge that this government has its strengths. Well, maybe I shouldn't use the plural. This government has one strength. It's good at spin.

It was spinning faster than a child's top last night. Particularly about Social Welfare. Mary Hanafin's department was the only one experiencing no cuts. Because it's the department into whose care will fall the people who lose their jobs as a result of this Budget or who are tipped into poverty by it.

Now, set aside the spin and taste the reality. The reality is that for those on social welfare, the increases are likely to be less than the rate of inflation in 2009. The pensioners who get an extra Euro a day - wow - will see the value of that single Euro go down the tubes as the benefit of the medical card for over seventies gets means tested. They have cut 250,000 hours of home help. The unemployed will get reduced benefits - Job Seekers Benefits have been hacked back.

All this has been done under the spin of "No cutbacks in the funding doing to Mary Hanafin," in the hope that no-one would notice the reality, which is that the weak and vulnerable are continuing to suffer.

Well, I have noticed. I will lead the Opposition in a relentless battle on their behalf. This Budget is all about taking back. Taking back from the decent diligent people who carry no responsibility for the disaster this Government has failed to avert. We have cutbacks in medical care provision and increased A&E charges. Families in Dublin will pay an additional €20,000 per year for long-term nursing home care of their elderly relatives.

(Does anybody remember the Fair Deal scheme that was going to make long-term care of the elderly accessible and anxiety free? If you do, just remind yourself of this Government's mantra: Give a thing, take it back...)

This nation faces a cut in direct front line services in education, an actual increase in class sizes. While the government works out how to bail out the banks, parents are continually asked to bail out national schools - whether they can afford it or not. It's a tax on parents - who are already hard pressed by rising food and fuel prices and economic uncertainty. (Does anybody remember the promises, in Education, of Micheál Martin and Noel Dempsey? Give a thing, take it back...)

For families, this Budget is a double-edged sword. The pain starts here and now. The real suffering will be felt six months down the road.

For businesses, it's the same double-edged sword. Rises in car tax, petrol tax, travel tax, rises in capital gains tax and the prospect of more to come next year affect every citizen in this nation and every business, likewise.

Business is at the heart of Irish society. It drives and shapes and innovates. We have produced some of the most innovative companies in new business areas and ones that have transformed traditional industries. For business, the government's key role is to manage the economic context. It didn't.

It distanced itself from its own responsibilities. Let me give you just one example. The government established the National Competitiveness Council - and then ignored its reports. The mired businesses in regulation and red tape. They failed to drive competition into public transport or energy provision. They failed to deliver broadband. There are retail businesses in every town in Ireland that will simply close before the next budget. Every one of those closures will be a little tragedy for an individual, a family, a community.

They'll close because they are crippled by increased government charges and because their cash flow will be hit by changing the payment dates for corporate tax in 2009 - spending tax for 2010 in 2009.

The sector which has already brought businesses to their knees is now in a bizarre partnership with this government. And so the Budget made no mention of the strong active regulation of the banking sector needed to protect the public interest.

This budget was borne out of a failure to take responsibility and an avoidance of blame. It emerges from a continued commitment to vested interests like the construction industry and the banks.



It may well push the economy from recession into depression. Fundamentally the budget is about raising taxes, anywhere and everywhere the Department of Finance could think of. It breaks basic economic rules:

- It continues to take money out of the economy rather than get better value for money already being spent.
- It commits us to massive borrowing - for day to day expenditure. A crucial economic error.
- It is horrifyingly over-optimistic for the years ahead.
- It makes no effort to reform a broken system.

Instead, it does U-turns. Panic instead of policy. U-turns on capital gains tax, u-turns on the medical card for the over 70s. And the signal of more U-turns next year: they will tax child benefit - a policy successive governments have opposed for decades.

This Budget is a portent of disaster. Despite the advance claims that the Government would take tough decisions, they haven't. Instead, we're promised more consultative committees. Without change at the heart of the economy change we simply won't get back on a road to prosperity. We will not achieve anything if we simply take an axe to government spending without thought for the consequence. If we just play a numbers game.

21st Century Ireland needs 21st Century government - not the tarnished and jaded approaches of the last century. That's why Fine Gael has proposed to:

- Freeze spending for 2009 to 2008 levels, with the exception of social welfare.
- Find nominal savings of 3% in each department. We have to freeze public sector pay for 2009 - we all have to feel the pain.
- Levy a fair charge on the banks for the Guarantee that's kept them in business.
- Put in place a redundancy programme for 5,000 civil servants.

We also need to spend to protect those at most risk from the downside of the recession. In our plans, we didn't set out to kid ourselves or anybody else, as the Minister for Finance did yesterday. He spoke of "Retrofitting homes" when in fact he was retrofitting reality. Yesterday was a brazen exercise in economic and political revisionism.

The reality is that for an easy political ride, this Government mortgaged the country to the builders and the developers and the speculators, creating a new elite, and now they demand that the hardworking Irish taxpayer bail them out.

And the Minister has a name for it. He calls it patriotism. Sir, this pointless punishment of the undeserving mortgaged poor is not patriotism. It is a war on the middle classes, a war on business and a failure to protect the vulnerable.

The Budget is no solution to the dire consequences of your Government's bored, stale and frankly irresponsible failure to manage this economy over the past decade. It is a profoundly shameful shoring up of failure at the expense of the people of the nation.

I'll post more on the budget later..

Europe: Let's Be At The Heart Of It

Well the Senior Fine Gael Party have a better slogan the YFG any way, so that has restored my belief in the party! Enda Kenny gave the following speech at the launch.

At the outset, I would like to say that I regard the forthcoming referendum as being of enormous importance for Ireland's future.

I am voting YES and asking Fine Gael supporters to do likewise because I firmly believe that Ireland's future success and prosperity depends on us remaining at the heart of an efficient, effective and democratic European Union.

I very much welcome the fact that we are holding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty as it provides us with the opportunity to have a real debate about our place in Europe.

That's why this debate is fundamentally about our attitude to Europe. Do we want to be at the heart of it; or do we want to be isolated and irrelevant?

The Referendum is very important for the future of both Ireland and the European Union and I hope that we take it seriously and that the debate over the next 6 weeks is a comprehensive and honest one in which the maximum number of people are engaged.

It would be very easy for me, as Leader of Fine Gael, to sit back and allow this referendum to be dominated by domestic political issues. For example, many people are unhappy about the dramatic slowdown in the economy, the continuing crisis in the health service and the rise in violent crime and want to use the referendum to punish the Government. I am not prepared to allow that to happen. As in all previous European treaty referendums, my Party has campaigned vigorously for a 'Yes' vote. This we have done both in government and opposition as we regard EU membership as a cornerstone of Ireland's success.

That is why I am asking Fine Gael supporters in particular, and others who are unhappy with the performance of the Government, to hold their fire until next year's Local and European elections. I will put the national interest first and actively support the passing of the Lisbon Reform Treaty.

In fact, our campaign started some time ago and we are now well into our programme of over 30 public meetings throughout the country. What I have detected so far is that, while people are generally positively disposed towards Europe, there is much confusion about the Lisbon Treaty itself, and its implications. It is our responsibility and politicians to fill this information gap and I genuinely believe that Fine Gael's public meetings and the other elements of our campaign are helping this process.

Essentially, this Treaty's purpose is to reform the institutions and decision-making processes of the Union to cater for a population of 500 million in 27 member states and to prepare Europe for the many challenges it faces. These include the growing economic power of nations like China, Russia and India. Other global challenges like climate change, hunger and disease epidemics require Europe to speak with a coherent voice if our continent is to be effective in contributing to solutions to these problems.

I firmly believe that EU membership have been pivotal to Ireland's success story. It has ended our economic dependence on Britain and opened up new and fruitful markets for Irish products. When we couldn't afford to invest in our infrastructure, it was our European partners who stepped in. If they hadn't, the economic progress of the past 15 years would not have been possible.

It is beyond doubt that the significant inward investment the country has enjoyed has been stimulated by our place in Europe, Ireland being the only native English speaking country in the Eurozone.

At this time of economic uncertainty in Ireland, with growth forecasts falling, unemployment rapidly rising, tax revenues much lower that forecast, and a record budget deficit in prospect, it is more important than ever that Ireland strengthens its place in the European Union.

As the only country holding a referendum on the Lisbon Reform Treaty, we have a unique opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the European process and to strengthen our place at the heart of the Union. A strong "Yes" vote will send a powerful message internationally that Ireland continues to be a central member of the evolving European process and that we are committed to the reforms necessary to equip the EU to meet the economic and political challenges it faces.

Apart from the indisputable economic benefits, we should also recognise that Europe continues to benefit Irish people in a wide range of areas. The fact is that most of our laws in the areas of the environmental protection, equality, employment protection, and consumer rights originated in European Union directives and regulation.

The questions we must ask ourselves when considering the Reform Treaty are:

- Do we believe that Ireland's future best interests lie in being part of a more effective and democratic, and less bureaucratic Europe?
- Do we recognise that a coherent European voice on the world stage will be a force for good?

I believe that most Irish people will answer 'Yes' to these questions and that is what this Treaty will achieve. It will reform the EU institutions to make them more effective and accountable and less bureaucratic. It will strengthen Europe's capacity to address global problems like poverty, aids and climate change. Critically, will also enshrine the fundamental rights of all European citizens in law.

The fact that Ireland is the only member state holding a referendum is both a privilege and a huge responsibility. We have a special responsibility to ensure that the debate over the coming months is an honest and rational one, based on the facts rather than on the many false and spurious arguments that have been promoted by anti-European groups in recent months.

Among the more bizarre claims I have come across include allegations that the Treaty will lead to the creation of a European army to which our young people will be conscripted; that the Treaty will pave the way for the legalisation of abortion; that the Treaty will threaten Ireland's corporate tax rate even though is clearly the fact that tax policy can only change with the unanimous agreement of all member state governments.

Possibly the most ridiculous claim I have heard so far is that the treaty will impose a limit on the size of Irish families, and I believe that a leaflet containing this nonsense has been circulated in Cork!

The truth is that these issues have nothing to do with the Treaty and it's time that those who are making these false claims admitted this.

One of the reasons why these false arguments have been spread has been the Government's prolonged dithering about the timing of the referendum and the delay in setting up Referendum Commission. This vacuum has been filled by misinformation and confusion as evidenced by the results of the recent opinion polls and surveys. These findings are a wake-up call that must be answered resoundingly. The incoming Taoiseach must take charge of and activate a Government campaign in support of the Treaty and I call on him to make this is immediate first priority.

I fully respect the right of people to oppose the treaty but I call on them to focus their arguments on the actual treaty provisions rather than on unrelated issues.

Such a debate must be aimed at ensuring that the Irish people are equipped with the true facts when they go to vote rather than adding to peoples' confusion by the spreading of misinformation.

I am confident that such a debate will result in the Irish people opting for solidarity and a future role of influence rather than isolation.

"Dithering" seams to have entered the political lexicon from the UK where Gordon Brown and his cabinet are regularly accused by the Conservatives for 'Dithering' on various issues. Nice to see Enda learning from fellow conservatives.

Government set to abandon "A Vision for Change"

Yet another example of Bertie and crew changing their tune. This time its on Mental health policy. I received this from the Fine Gael Spokesman on Mental Health, Dan Neville TD. It says and I quote

"This report (A Vision for Change) states explicitly that a minimum of an additional €25 million is required annually for a six-year period to allow implementation of the mental health service expansion and improvement objectives outlined in the policy.

"In 2006, €17 million and in 2007, €10 million was spent for this purpose. In 2008 no additional funding was allocated.

It is fairly obvious that the Government is not willing to fund the Vision for Change. This report by an expert group, was an excellent report when released in 2006 and if the Government had fully implemented it, Ireland's Mental Health Policy and institutions would be up with the best of them, but they are not.

To again quote Mr. Neville

In 2006, 3,000 children and adolescents waited an average of 15 months for psychiatric assessment with some families waiting as long as four years. In 2007, waiting lists were even longer with 3,598 children waiting for assessment, a third of whom waited for more than 12 months. With no money allocated for the implementation of 'A Vision of Change' in 2008, things are likely to get worse.

Clearly the Government is going blind on this issue. With waiting lists going up, it cannot afford to be putting childrens and adolescents psychiatry on the long finger. This is what they are doing. They are closing there eyes and hoping it will go away.

Children and adolescents should not be in adult wards like they currently are. The Government need to allocate the funding to this sector which badly needs it!

------------------
Links:
A Vision For Change PDF
FG PR: Government abandons introduction of Mental Health Policy - Neville

In defence of Fine Gael

Its not very often I disagree with Damian Mulley, but I think in one of his latest posts "On why Fine Gael as a party can go fuck themselves", he's gone a bit wide of the mark.

Damian is currently being harrased by two people who claim to be FG'ers from UL. Now I am not doubting that this is the case, but I think Damian went a bit overbaord by throwing the entire Fine Gael party and organisation in the same bucket as these gobsheens.

Firstly, YFG is an autonmous organisation and you must apply seperately to join Fine Gael senior party.

Secondly, FG and YFG has no control over what indivual members do in their spare time and can only reprimand them when they misrepresent FG (or YFG)

I dont blame Damien for making his twitter private but lumping all blueshirts into one basket cause of two bad apples is a bit OTT.

I know and like Damien, I truely hope he follows trough with contacting the Gardai and the UL authorities about these two trouble makers.

Harassement, whether online or not, is not acceptable.

I had my own brush with this kind of thing from a student in UCC. Once the college authorities were contacted, it stopped.

I don't expect or want an apology from Damian, just hope in future he won't bandy all blueshirts into one label cause of two people.

I wish Damian the best and know this kind of stuff affects his health. I hope the blog awards will without a hitch on Saturday.

Please Damian remeber some of us Blueshirts aren't half bad!

Last of the Senators Appointed by Bertie

The following were appointed:

Dan Boyle (Green Party)
Martin Brady (FF)
Ivor Callely (FF)
Ciaran Cannon (PD)
Maria Corrigan (FF)
Deirdre de Burca (Green Party)
John Ellis (FF)
Eoghan Harris
Lisa McDonald (FF)
Brian Ó'Domhnaill (FF)
Fiona O'Malley (PD)

Also Senator Donie Cassidy has been appointed Leader of the Seanad.

Leo Varadkar was quick off the mark with a press release below. I'd kinda agree with it, though you can't expect hime to be reforming on it! IMO

Taoiseach blows opportunity to appoint genuinely independent voices
to Seanad - Varadkar


Fine Gael TD Leo Varadkar has accused the Taoiseach of wasting his
last opportunity to appoint genuinely independent voices to the
Seanad.

'I would like to congratulate the new Senators appointed by the
Taoiseach and wish them well in their new duties.

'However, the selection of candidates from the Fianna Fáil ranks is
singularly lacking in imagination and appears to be driven by a
desire to repay political favours, or debts.

'The Taoiseach has squandered his last chance to appoint genuine,
distinctive voices to the Seanad. Among his appointments there is no
genuinely independent voice, no-one to represent Northern Ireland,
and no-one to represent the Irish emigrant community. This is
regrettable.

'When you consider the number of under-represented communities that
could have been put forward in these appointments, it is
disappointing that the Taoiseach has chosen instead to appoint a
number of people who were rejected in at least two elections in
recent months.'

Notes on a Train

Random thoughts on the 11:00 Dublin to Cork Train




Fine Gael won the election so stop asking me if I'm happy with the election!

A downturn is coming in the economy and people know it. Watch the number of Penny's bags the next time your in Town.

The Following Drag queens rock (in no particular order!)
*Regina George
*Fabula Di Marchais
*Destiny Jones
*Kitty Cartier
*Lady Face - Veda and Devina
*Panti (all hail)
*Joanna Ryde
*Aine Climax

Cork needs a LUAS

The B'house is cool ;-)

I like the new CIE trains

Kinlay house is a great place to stay - its near all the Gay Bars!!!!
:-D

Lemonjelly is gorgeous and the staff are hot!!!!

This weather is killing me....

I found Today FM's HQ by accident....

Transgendered rights more improtant then Civil Partnerships.

Launch of Dublin Pride was fab. Must try and get to the Parade on the 23rd of this month!

Cork Pride was fab - I came second in the mince marathon!!!

The Parade was well better this year like!


I say 'like' a lot - especially when it's pointed out to me

I dropped out of college :-O

Cant get this song out of my head!


I must go to Dublin more often.... but not by train €40 student return jaysus!!!

Must start blogging regularly again. Excuses:
*General Election
*Exams
*Hospital
*Work

Dan Boyle travles by train.... hes two carriages back

Why is Paris Hilton on the front page of the Irish Examiner.... Who gives a shit - stupid bitch.

ISL should be thought to all children. I will teach mine.

I need to think of a drag name!

Your Drag Queen Name Is:

Felicia Fellatio

Drag Queen Name Generator

Anyone know where i can get men's size 10 (UK) heels in Ireland?? Preferable Cork!

My hangover is subsiding!

I love free beer....

This is a cool song


Thats all he wrote!

Work Thursday, Vote Saturday!

Well FG have jumped on the band wagon here, but I know we in YFG have been calling for Weekend voting for quite awhile, I know it was in the 'YOUR FUTURE COUNTS, STAND UP AND BE COUNTED' campaign we did earlier this year to get people, especially young people registered to vote.

Sign The Petition

"Contract for a Better Ireland" Outdoor Media Campaign Launched by Fine Gael

The Fine Gael Leader, Enda Kenny T.D., today launched his Party's outdoor media campaign in support of his "Contract for a Better Ireland" which he set out in his Presidential speech at the Fine Gael Árd Fheis at the week-end. He was joined at the launch by Front Bench members Richard Bruton, Olivia Mitchell, Fergus O'Dowd and Dr Liam Twomey and first time Dáil candidates Leo Varadkar (Dublin West) and Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East).

Commenting on the launch and the Contract for a Better Ireland, Enda Kenny said:

"At the week-end I set out my vision for a better Ireland. It is one based on ending the era of the broken promises and restoring the confidence the public have in their Government to deliver on their pledges. For too long we have seen empty promises reneged on by this Government and we now lie in the wreckage of their cavalier attitude to the public's interest.

"I am confident that the Contract for a Better Ireland will help restore the public's faith in the political process. I have set out an agenda, the fundamental building blocks of a better Ireland, that I will deliver on when elected Taoiseach. Only after having delivered on this Contract will I seek re-election as Taoiseach. If I have not, I will not.

"Today's launch highlights two key components of the Contract - health and crime. There are four different posters highlighting specific commitments from the Contract that will be running over the coming weeks, and they are:

Poster 1 "Free health insurance for all children under 16."
Poster 2 "2,300 more hospital beds."
Poster 3 "Tougher sentences, tougher bail for criminals."
Poster 4 "2,000 more Gardaí on the streets."

"The campaign will incorporate a mixture of 48 sheet posters, a heavy concentration on 6 sheet posters (bus shelters etc), targeted print media, transport media and online advertising.

"Over the coming weeks the public have a choice to make. Will they continue with the cycle of broken promises and empty rhetoric of the past 10 years, or will they sign up for the Contract for a Better Ireland? I am growing more confident with each passing day that the public will sign up for the Contract, they will vote for accountable politics and they will vote for Fine Gael."

I think they are good posters they are strong, attract attention and look good.

The Full Speech, FG Ard Fheis 2007

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4

The Video Log Experiment! FG Ard Fhies my Reaction

Extracts from the Presendtial Address by Enda Kenny at The Fine Gael Ard Fheis

The is a great country but it is badly managed by an analog government in a digital age'

'The rainbow government of '94 to '97 put Ireland back in the black with a budgetary surplus for the first time in 3o years. Inflation was kept low and price rises were the lowest in Europe. A corperation taz of 12.5% saw massive investment in the country with 1,000 jobs per week being created, that is our record.

160million euro was wasted on a computer system for the health service that could have delivered 650 more beds to patients.

120million euro on the infamous Bertie Bowl that could have delivered 7million home help hours for our elderly and the families who need it.

60 million euro wasted on e-voting machines that could have delivered 800 more Gardai on our streets - That is their record'

"The Problem inst money, the problem is governemnt complacency and government waste"

"Our nurses have remembered what our government has forgotten and that is their duty to uphold the dignity of life, to look after our people, all of our people, right to the end."

" The health experts themselves tell us that everyday chaos at A+E is claiming 3 lives. These are note faceless government statistics, these are someones mother, someones father, someones child. The government response? they argue the toss. One day its a crisis, the next its a national emergency - whatever soundbite that will get them through the day. But we know what it is, the people know what it is, its a national disgrace"

" In the last 2 years alone, there was 11,000 serious crimes; Robbery, Rape and Murder committed by offenders out on bail, OUT.ON.BAIL."

"When the law and order party are back in power, these thugs will be out of business"

"Tonight I am proud how Fine Gael founded our democracy and the institutions of our state. Throughout that proud history we stood by our democratic principles, we stood by the republic, we defended the states institutions against every threat - Even if their are some people who would try to airbrush Fine Gaels huge contribution from our proud and often volatile history"

"Well from Michael Collins through every generation, Fine Gael has done whar it has always done, what we will always so. We put Ireland First"

"The next election will be a transforming moment in our nations history. Ireland will choose between a tired old government that has brought us as far as they can and a new government that will create an Ireland where our children can rare their children confident of a bright future.A proud Ireland, a thriving society, a warm community where family values are important and where economic prosperity is matched with prosperity of mind and prosperity of spirit and thats why I say to our young people, in a very special way, the next election belongs to you because Irelands future belings to you."

"I am prepared to give you real leadership, desisive leadership in a government of drive and energy. A government focused on the future and committed to delivering the best of that future"

"From the moment I was entrusted with the leadership of this great party, I have worked to build on our great traditions, to empower the next generation, to pull together our respective strengths and our passion for public service, so that we can say to the people without fear and without favour: If you want a government of energy and delivery, if you want a government of ethics and honesty, if you want a government that is driven by your dreams, your rights, your needs, we are that government, we are that government. Through change, change for the better because we are that government. For Ireland, the best is yet to come."

Morning Briefing, 5th March

Good Morning,I hope no one is suffering from ill effects of superstitions linked to lunar eclipses!!! (or still suffering from hangovers from the Irish Blog Awards or whatever they got up to at the weekend!!)

An Nuachtr ar an maidin seo!

Fine Gael are to introduce a bill into the Dáil this week to outlaw the sexual "grooming" of children on the Internet. (Breakingnews) This is well overdue having been on the order paper since 2004!

A new poll out today shows 68% of those surveyed would support a ban on hare coursing with 72% agreeing its a cruel practice (RTÉ). I am against hunting in Ireland, and actually spoke against it at my very first YFG Conference way back when.

A leading psychiatrist, Professor Patricia Casey, has branded Irish psychiatric services a 'third world country' (Irish Examiner). From my own experiences shes right. I have a appointment on Thursday in the CUH, and I will be waiting a long time to be seen!

The Cherokee Nation has voted out descendants of freed slaves from the Tribe. (CNN) This has led to accusations of racism. Well in my opinion, its not exactly fair like!

That's all for now!

Slán!

Govt U-turn on Airport debt means higher air fares for passengers – Buttimer

People of Cork cannot trust FF & PDs, Fine Gael Cork South Central
candidate Cllr Jerry Buttimer has said: 'The decision by the FF/PD
Government not to honour its public commitment and promise to deliver
Cork Airport as completely debt-free is another example of Cork and
the people of Cork being marginalised'.

'The people of Cork can no longer trust Fianna Fáil and the PDs.
Their hollow empty words and promises are false rhetoric. Again we
have another example of false promises by Fianna Fáil not being
honoured.

'All the Government wants is for the people in the regions to pay
more. This failure to deliver Cork Airport as debt-free means:

- Higher air fares for passengers;
- Higher costs being applied to airlines;
- Increased difficulty in securing new contracts and business;
- Increased financial burden on the airport authority;
- Reduced attractiveness and competitiveness for securing inward
investment.

'If the Government was serious in relation to joined-up thinking,
decentralisation and its National Development plan and spatial
strategy, then Cork and the greater Southwest region would have a
debt-free airport and not a watered-down version.

'Local Fianna Fáil TDs should collectively hang their heads in shame
and explain to the people of Cork how:

- They allowed their Government to renege on a clear commitment;
- Cork Airport now burdened with a €100 million dent will promote and
enhance growth of the airport;
- How this decision will benefit the consumer, local business and the
public of Cork.

'The simple truth of the matter is not that Cork airport is facing
the crippling effect of debt but that Cork City and County will also
share in the fall out of the debt.

'Added to the recent significant job losses the failure of
decentralisation and the pitiful allocation of funding projects to
Cork in the National Development Plan it is clear that Cork is not a
priority for local Fianna Fáil TDs or for the Government. It is clear
that Fianna Fáil have failed Cork airport, the staff and the people
of Cork.'

Coveney accuses Govt of betraying Cork

If it is true as has been claimed on RTE that Cork Airport will be
saddled with a €100M of debt associated with the construction of its
new airport terminal then we have witnessed the most blatant breach
of a political promise in Cork during the lifetime of this
Government, according to Simon Coveney TD MEP General Election Candidate for Cork South Central.

'When Aer Rianta was split up and Cork, Shannon and Dublin Airports
agreed to go it alone, the Government in an effort to get the
agreement of management at Cork Airport gave an absolute assurance in
writing, later confirmed by the Taoiseach in the Dáil and directly to
the staff in Cork Airport, that Cork Airport would not be saddled
with the debt associated with the building of its new terminal.

'The agreement was that the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) would take
on this debt and in return the DAA was compensated by taking over the
assets of the Great Southern Hotel Group and Aer Rianta
International. It's worth noting that the DAA have since sold the
Great Southern Hotel Group for €220M
more than the cost of building Cork's new terminal.

'For Cork to be saddled with this debt means that passengers will
have to pay a levy making Cork Airport less competitive than it
should have been if the Government had kept its promise to allow the
new Cork Airport to begin debt free.

'The six Government TDs in Cork City should hang their heads in shame
as they have been outflanked and out manoeuvred politically by the
DAA. My understanding is that this decision has been taken by the
Taoiseach himself to finalise the debt issue relating to Cork
Airport. He has clearly demonstrated that Cork is not a political
priority even three months out from a General Election.

'Finally to add insult to injury the DAA are insisting on taking
ownership of some of the development land attached to Cork Airport.
This claim must be strongly resisted as it is a valuable land-bank
that should be in the ownership of Cork Airport.'


Its sooooo true

Interesting take on the yesterdays IMS poll

got this off a friend

I'm sure you've seen or heard about the IMS poll in the Tribune yesterday.

FF - 39
FG - 22
Lab - 12
PD - 5
Green - 5
SF - 7
Others - 10


IMS did similar polls during the 2002 general election, and their predictions were woeful. 2 days before the election they had a poll which had FF on 50% (they got 41% on the day) and had FG on 18% (we got 22.5%). This crazy margin of error seems to continue to this day and would explain why FF are so high and FG so low in IMS polls, compared to the MRBI and RedC ones.

So if you correct yesterdays poll in line with the margins of error IMS had in 2002, you get:

FF - 31%
FG - 26%
Lab - 11%
PD - 6%
SF - 8%
Green - 4%
Others - 13%

FF/PD - 37%
FG/Labour - 37%
FG/Labour/Greens - 41%

A crude way of looking at it perhaps, but it paints a very different picture - one that the Sunday Tribune dont seem to think is worth noting.

So if the Tribune, or anyone else, think that the election is over..........then they need their heads examined!

PS: If you meet any crowing FF members in the next few days- you might ask them what they think of the plunging FF support in Dublin - down from 44% to 31% in the space of 2 months. If you believe IMS, their support in Dublin is actually 4% LOWER now than it was before Ahern blubbed and sobbed about his money troubles.

Tribune poll good news for FG?

Got this from Irish Election (Yes i rob everything off them! :P)

Fianna Fail at 39% (-3) Fine Gael at 22% and Labour at 12% (+2 each). Progressive Democrats at 5% (+1), Green Party at 5% (-1) and Sinn Fein at 7% (-1)

So that gives a combined FG/Lab 34% of the vote and throw in the greens and we tie with FF who could have a choice between SF (7%) or the PD's (5%).

Nice to see that FF and SF are down though! Things are looking good, lets hope its lats :D

Morning Breifing, January 8th

An Nuacht ar an maidin seo

Well im never trusting RTÉ again. Thanks for everyone who commented, and yes its David Irvine, I was very tired last night!

FG launch into FF over saying they will go into power with Sinn Fein (Breakingnews.ie) Maybe one of my predictions for the Government may come true.

NASA killed life on Mars (CNN). Wow thats a strange one. Didnt see that coming.

Sky News have launched a Green Britain yoke thats showing all week. one of this links is for a game from the Science Museum

Israel is reportedly ready to attack Iran, now theres a warn for them (France 24)