Pat Rabbitte’s been on the radio harrumphing about water protests, sure that’s what you do when it’s not an election. Pat was on Morning Ireland laughing at the idea that Irish Water would ever be privatised: “So, there is no danger, it’s an entire red herring about privatisation of water services. There won’t be any privatisation of water services. No Government with its head screwed on would seek to privatise something … Read More
Fine Gael and Fiddling Facebook.
What’s that old saying about digging a hole? After much online hilarity, Fine Gael claimed earlier today they were spammed by large numbers of inauthentic Facebook users last night. What happened? The Wicklow based TD Simon Harris logged on for a post-Budget discussion but was greeted with a total lack of interest. Then thousands of users, predominantly overseas, began to like the post immediately. Online commentators were quick to … Read More
Holidays And Other People’s Misery.
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD has written to the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny asking him to recall the Dáil to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the response of the Irish Government. Two chances Gerry. Here’s what he wrote: “Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Irish towns and cities in recent days to express their outrage at the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian men, … Read More
Lucky Heather
Enda’s been shuffling the Cabinet like the captain of the Titanic rearranging the deckchairs. One name pops out of the mire purely because nobody has heard of her, Heather Humphreys the new Minister for Arts. We did a Google trawl, pretty much nothing. Checked Twitter, no account. Even her own website doesn’t work. Had a look at Dáilwatch.ie, she’s had a pretty impressive voting record this year (could well … Read More
We Want Our Money Back.
We knew he was going to be a pain in the arse for the EU Parliament, we were right. Here’s Luke Ming Flanagan giving Jean-Claude Juncker his thoughts on the election for President of the Commission and Ireland’s burden of 42% of Europe’s bank bailout. As Ming lists broken promises, blatant lies and odious bank debts: MEPs pointedly leave the room, perhaps wishing not to be seen not to be seen … Read More
Little Girl Dyes Her Hair So Gardaí Don’t Take Her Again.
The Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan has published a report 9 months after two Roma children were taken by Garda after ethnic profiling. The Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald and the Taoiseach Enda Kenny both apologised today, which will stick in the craw of all the Fine Gael supporters who were cheering on what they hoped was a crackdown on Roma people. While Fine Gael councillors and prospective TDs publish anti-Traveller … Read More
Minister Reilly Please Resign.
On the day the he announced a redress scheme, Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SoS) have called for the immediate resignation of the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly. There’s background on SoS via theJournal.ie and updates from Reilly’s press conference this morning via the SOS_Ireland Twitter account. The following Press Release has been issued by Survivors of Symphysiotomy: SoS Chairperson Marie O’Connor said that the group, which represents 99 per cent of survivors in Ireland, had … Read More
50 Euro And All The Spuds You Can Eat.
Every day another name off the live register. This is one of four farm labourer ‘internships’ on the JobBridge site today. Shameless stuff from this government. Must have a drivers licence, be willing to work well with others, work on their own initiative, Some heavy lifting involved. Boiled, mashed and half-baked. (hat-tip to Scambridge.ie)
Juking The Stats 2
Above: A photograph of some urban dereliction by Paul Reynolds. Minister Jan O’Sullivan’ Housing Assistance Payment Bill will remove people receiving rent assistance from the housing waiting list. SF TD Dessie Ellis outlined the implications of removing tens of thousands (many of whom have been on it for over a decade) from the housing list. ‘This means they will find it almost impossible to get a council house, to buy … Read More
TTIP Don’t Believe The Hype.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership could be the most destructive, and most secretive, legislation that nobody’s talking about. Cillian Doyle breaks it down for us. If I was to ask you about the TTIP negotiations, would it ring any bells? Probably not. The legislative process of the European Commission isn’t the sexiest of subjects. But we need to understand what the Commission does, as it’s the only one with the … Read More