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A massacare! A whitewash! A rout! 10 points? 20? 30?!
To be honest, I can't see us winning by that margin, but you never know!

Monaghan have to go into this with the intention of winning. There'll be absolutely no pressure. There's no expectation. But there's no point in beating Kildare just to be hammered by Dublin - with that attitude, we'd have been better having Kildare pip us last night. We don't intend to be there just to make up the numbers. We'll give it a go, and at the very least put it up to Dublin. It will be a real test of whether we are close to the top table. We have form in going into games as massive underdogs and deposing reigning champions - Armagh in 2003 and Donegal in 2012 - it's hope more than expectation, but where there's hope...

Giro d'Italia: Mark H Durkan considers election poster blanket ban

By Mark Simpson
BBC Ireland Correspondent

Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has said he is considering an outright ban on election posters - not just during the Giro d'Italia cycle race in May.

Mr Durkan said a ban on posters for the three days of the Giro could used as a "trial for an outright ban".

He said he been considering reviewing the legislation before the controversy arose over posters on the Giro route.

Mr Durkan said it was due to their impact on the environment.

In an interview for the Talkback programme on BBC Radio Ulster, he said: "As part of that review, I will be examining a range of options including an outright ban."

The environment minister said the review would not take place before the Giro in mid-May, but could occur before the forthcoming Westminster and Northern Ireland Assembly elections.

Although he is reserving the right to ban election posters during the Giro, he has written to all the political parties asking them to consider a voluntary agreement not to put up any posters along the cycle route.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-26153767


A great idea, no? A blight on the landscape, often hanging around months later, and cable-ties never removed. Has anyone here ever had their vote swayed by an election poster?

Search function not working on the site, so sorry if this has been covered before. I'm looking for a decent DAB radio for the kitchen - any recommendations?

Has the old thread been deleted that one as well as the Sinn Fein one?

Anyway, here's some change FG is introducing - looks to be a positive step, although there's scope for plenty more to make local government more effective.


Phil Hogan says local government reform will save €420m
Updated: 19:35, Tuesday, 16 October 2012


Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has said plans to reform local government will save the taxpayer €420m over the next four years.

The proposals, called Putting People First, include the abolition off all 80 town councils, a 40% reduction in the number of councillors.

There will also be a cut in the number of regional authorities from ten to three.

Local authority services are to be funded through the local property tax, with strengthened audit committees.

A National Oversight and Audit Commission will scrutinise local government performance and efficiency.

Local authority managers are to be replaced by chief executives.

They will be responsible to the elected members in the same way as the chief executive of a company is to a board of directors.

The Government's document says that the role and functions of elected councils will be widened, with a greater involvement in economic development and enterprise support.

Town Councils will be replaced by new Municipal Districts, which will cover the entire county, being based on the main towns and their hinterlands.

Councillors will be elected simultaneously to the Municipal Districts and the County Council.

The document states that more power will be devolved to local level, with a substantial range of "reserved" functions at Municipal District level.

The city and county councils in Limerick and Waterford will be merged into a single authority, as will the two county councils in Tipperary.

Cork and Galway will retain city as well as county councils, while Dublin will keep its current four councils.

The measures will reduce the number of councillors from over 1,600 to 950.

The targeted voluntary redundancy scheme should see an estimated saving of €45m per year.

Minister Hogan has said that local authorities will have responsibility for the property tax and the amount that will be levied in each district.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, the minister said the Government remains committed to the principle that the money from the tax will be ring-fenced for use by local authorities.

He said the Revenue Commissioners will still collect the money, but local authorities will have discretion over the imposition of the new tax and the amount that will be charged.

He said international best practice suggested that local services should, as far as possible, be locally funded, and that was the rationale for the property tax.

He said the link between local tax and local service was severed by a government for electoral gain in 1977, a decision which he said led to much of the malaise in the local government system today.

Mr Hogan said that each local authority can in due course have a different level of property tax, though he said the timing of such a move would be a matter for Government.

He also confirmed that the power of councillors to overturn the decisions of planning officials will be abolished.

He said the decision had been taken in the light of evidence given to the Mahon Tribunal, regarding corruption in the planning process.

A directly elected mayor for Dublin is still a possibility, but only after voters in the capital are consulted in a plebiscite - a vote on a ballot question - to be held alongside the local elections in 2014.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the new local government plan was "one of the most radical, ambitious and far-reaching governance reform plans ever put forward by an Irish government".

He said councillors would have a stronger role on issues that matter to people, especially in economic development.

Mr Kenny said it would be up to local authorities to make the best of the new opportunities.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said the Government was embarking on a clear path to local government reform.

He said the current system was undemocratic, unresponsive and does too little governing.

Mr Gilmore said Municipal Districts would replace the "patchy" system of Town Councils.

He said the structure would allow councillors to act at a District and a Council level.

Mr Gilmore said the new system would respond more quickly and effectively to the needs of people.

Plans criticised by some councillors

A number of councillors have expressed their concern at the abolition of town councils.

Bray Town Council Cathaoirleach Mick Glynn of Fine Gael said the reduction in the number of councillors may affect political diversity and accessibility.

Labour Councillor John Walsh, a member of Ballinasloe Town Council, said the move was a blow to local democracy.

Athlone Mayor Jim Henson said he has no confidence in the ability of Mr Hogan to introduce proper local government reform.

The Labour Councillor said what was being introduced was a European model system of representation that would bring elected representatives even further away from the people.

The Mayor of Waterford has said his city's status will be affected by the proposed changes.

Fine Gael Councillor Jim D'Arcy said Waterford will not be on a level playing field in terms of "city status" as it will not have the same resources as the likes of Cork or Galway and will be at a disadvantage.

He also said it is going to cost money in the short term and asked who is going to pay for the changes.

Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen dubbed the proposals a wasted opportunity from a Government that had promised real reform, while Sinn Féin's Brian Stanley said the party would be studying the proposals.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1016/phil-hogan-local-government-cabinet-politics.html

Looks like Kenny is determined to hold a referendum at some point, campaigning to abolish the Seanad. Seems to be just populist politics to me. Yes, things need to change, but does that mean that the upper house should just be binned? Unfortunately most arguments to abolish it are likely to be based on cost, when in reality, the cost need not be that significant.

A bit late in the day and no thread on this game - probably speaks volumes for the general indifference. If Monaghan win, meh, no big deal... if they don't, then at least that's 2012 wrapped up and maybe we can (hopefully) look towards a new management team for 2013.

Monaghan will have unpleasant thoughts of heading to the midlands for a qualifier after last year's defeat to a poor Offaly side, and on paper, Laois should be a lot stronger. Although I have very vivid memories of Monaghan's 2009 game in Portlaoise where Laois were on the wrong end of a 20 point hammering. That day everything that could go right did go right. Monaghan have fallen well back since.

Monaghan's team:

M Keogh
D Wylie, V Corey, C Walshe
K O'Connell, D Mone, K Duffy
O Lennon, D Clerkin
P Dooney, D Hughes, J Turley
P Finlay, C McManus, T Freeman

Interesting that Darren Hughes is in the HF line - suggests an attacking game by Monaghan maybe? Also good that O'Connell and Dooney get to start, with K Hughes on the bench - suggests that recent form is being considered. Having Hughes, Hanratty and McGuinness on the bench, along with Gollogly, leaves some good options in attack. I have absolutely no idea why Finlay would ever line out at #13.

There has to be one or two in this!

Any venue for this? Assuming Newry if not neutral and Armagh if it is?

The number of TDs in the Dáil is expected to be reduced by eight to 158 on the recommendation of the Constituency Commission, which is due to report next month.

The commission will recommend wholesale changes to boundaries, with Dublin, Munster and Connacht-Ulster each losing three seats and Leinster outside Dublin gaining one.

The changes will cause upheaval in all parties, particularly when taken in tandem with the fresh legal requirement that each party must nominate women as 30 per cent of its candidates in the next election.

The commission was charged with redrawing constituency boundaries. It took into account the 2011 census figures published in March and the Coalition pledge to reduce the number of TDs.

Its terms of reference provide for a minimum of 153 TDs in the next Dáil and a maximum of 160. There are 166 TDs in this Dáil.

It is understood that the commission has almost completed its work and its report will be published in the middle of next month.

The reduction of three seats in Munster will come about through consolidation of the two three-seat constituencies in Kerry into one five-seater. The same process will take place in Tipperary, where one five-seat constituency will replace two three-seaters.

Cork will also lose a seat, with the likelihood of Cork South Central being reduced from a five- to a four-seater with readjustment of a number of boundaries in the surrounding constituencies.

The three-seat reduction in Connacht-Ulster will come about through merging two Donegal three-seaters into one five-seater and the five-seat Cavan Monaghan being reduced to a four-seater.

The third seat in the region to go will be in either Galway or Mayo, with the eastern portion of one of those counties being merged with Roscommon. In tandem with that, the old Sligo-Leitrim constituency will be restored, ending the partition of Leitrim for electoral purposes.

The reduction of three seats in Dublin will be achieved through extensive changes to boundaries. Two seats are likely to go on the north side of the city, with an extensive redrawing of constituencies like Dublin North Central, Dublin North West, Dublin Central and Dublin West.

One seat is expected to go on the south side, with the most likely outcome being the reduction of Dublin South Central from a five- to a four-seater. But there is also a possibility that Dún Laoghaire could be reduced from a four- to a three-seater.

Laois-Offaly is certain to gain a seat in the revision, with the current five-seat constituency being broken up to form two three-seaters.

The census showed that the existing Laois-Offaly constituency has the highest ratio of population to Dáil deputy at 30,565, followed by the three-seat Kildare South and the four-seat Kildare North, which are marginally over the 30,000 limit.

Both of those constituencies are likely to lose territory as a result.

Speaking in Midleton, Co Cork today, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the commission was "completely and utterly" independent and declined to comment on the contents of the report.

"I have no idea what is in the report and I am going to make no comment on it good, bad or indifferent until I see it. This is one commission of a number that is quite utterly independent in terms of its views."

Minister for Agriculture Simon Convey said he has been advocating a reduction in TD numbers for a long time. "I have no problem with reducing the number of TDs," he said. "I think it makes sense. And if that means there are changes in my own constituency, then so be it. You cannot be precious about these things."

According to article 16 of the Constitution, the ratio of population to TD has to be between 20,000 and 30,000. While in opposition, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny pledged to cut the size of the Dáil by 20 seats to 146, but that would require a constitutional referendum as it would have left a ratio of more than 31,000.

With 158 TDs, the ratio would be 29,039, the closest to the limit since the adoption of the 1937 Constitution.

For much of the State's history that ratio was close to the 20,000 figure in order to maximise the number of TDs in the Dáil. However, the rapid rise in population combined with reduction in the number of TDs means that the new ratio will involve the lowest number of TDs to population.

The commission accepted submissions from interested parties, including TDs, in addition to census data, in arriving at its decisions.

The five-person commission is chaired by High Court judge Mr Justice John Cooke. The other four members are: clerk of the Dáil Kieran Coughlan; clerk of the Seanad Deirdre Lane; Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly; and secretary general of the Department of the Environment Geraldine Tallon.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0525/breaking11.html

Thought this might be worth a thread. I find stats interesting and there's a good supplement in today's Irish Times.

Religious stats are particularly interesting:
84% of people are Catholic; up 4.89% (estimated up 2% in native Irish) to 3.86m
320.3% increase in atheists (up to 3,531) and 132.4% increase in agnostics (up to 1,515) - although there were no 'tick boxes' for either of these - this is what was filled in in the 'other' box
44.8% increase in people of no religion (to 269,800) - a further 72,914 did not state their religion
and...
Monaghan had the lowest percentage of people who stated that they had no religion (2.42%) 

Given the falling Mass attendance, one of the paper's columnists suggests people are identifying with Catholicism more for cultural than religious reasons. I find that a strange analysis though - surely given what has happened in the Church, unless you're devout in your religion, why would you want to identify with such an institution?

(BTW, the spell-check on this thing is a Protestant - it suggested I change 'Monaghan' to 'Monacan'.)

So, McCallister is offering a clear alternative to Kennedy for the UUP leadership, proposing to take them into (unofficial) opposition. It's an interesting proposition. It would seem like the UUP has little to lose and is unlikely to see a reversal in fortunes if it continues as it is. Having said that, unofficial opposition is a high-risk strategy. There's no provision for funding or speaking rights - would opposition be primarily via the media?

On top of this, if it did (somehow) result in a reversal in the party's fortunes and they overtook the DUP (unlikely as that is), there's nothing to force the DUP to then move into opposition - they could just remain in government.

There doesn't appear to be any appetite for official opposition amongst the big parties, but surely some form of opposition is needed in the longer term, to hold the governing parties to account? The Assembly is of course, a 'special case', and there would have to be safeguards (i.e. any governing coalition would have to be 'cross-community'). However, SF are unlikely to support a voluntary 'cross-community' coalition, as they're more likely to be left out in the cold.

Does anyone have any other ideas of how this could work in the medium-term? Are there any better solutions?

So, who's paying this? And is it irresponsible of TDs to advise the general public not to pay it?

 

Time to get this one up and running.

Dublin out in front with wins against the toughest opponents in the group, vs Monaghan still on two points with an unlucky result in Armagh and a good, but ultimately 'not good enough', performance against Cork.

Monaghan shouldn't panic yet - there are definitely a number of games to target to pick up a few points. But this is one of our home games, so it would be good to see this being one of them. Unfortunately, having the game in a big open ground like Clones may negate some of the 'home' benefit (compared to having the game in Scotstown or Inniskeen for example), but it's good to have Dublin travel for a change - we've played at least the last 3 league games in Parnell.

It's not going to be easy for Labour and if they do go in with FG, they will have to put up with constant sniping from the 'left' on the opposition benches. They also run the risk of ending up like the Greens.

Labour could also stay out of Government, although that might not help them in 5 years either.

What would people prefer? For example, would SF supporters prefer for Labour to stay out and FG to try and go it alone, either as a minority government, or with help from right-wing independents? Or would it be better if Labour were there to at least 'temper' the impact of FG?

At the end of the day, the public has elected a 'right' majority, so is it better to let them work away on their own, or join them and win some concessions?

Ok, 24 hours is enough of a postmortem - onwards and upwards!

Can't see too many heading to this game. Cork support doesn't really turn out at the best of times, but this is clashing with the Rugby too! Páirc Uí Chaoimh is going to be one big empty space - crazy that it isn't in a smaller ground.

Anyway, to the game itself - a lot of positives from yesterday, despite the result. Hopefully Freeman can play a bigger part next week.

We've had a a few decent results against Cork in the last few years - a win and a loss in 2009 and a narrow loss in 2010. Two points here would be a massive win, 1 point would be extremely positive. If we don't get a win, we need to at least try and maintain the overall positive scoring difference.

Looking forward to the trip - our only real mileage this year.

Roll on round 2. Both teams will be keen to get 2 points on the board - it would leave Monaghan in a great position if we could get a second win, although i'd settle for a point at this stage.

It will be a definite step up from the Galway game but we had a bit to spare there and should have another few players back for this.

Is Ronan Clarke going to be back for Armagh?

Looking forward to getting a good look around the Athletics Ground and hopefully after yesterday Monaghan can bring a decent crowd along. We have a fairly good record against Armagh over the last few years - I think we've won our last 2 league encounters and our last Championship head to head.

I expect a tight game and think it's too close to call at this stage.

Two teams likely to be struggling for survival in Division 1 and it's a game that both sides will be targeting for two points. I think home advantage will be a big boost for Monaghan in this one. It's hard to analyse anything else at this stage, given that we don't even know the panels nevermind the teams.

I read that Duffy and Gollogly will be out for the whole league as well as rumours that Woods and Tommy Freeman might not be about - can anyone confirm/deny or add any more names to the list at this stage?

Conor McManus, Vinny Corey, Eoin Lennon, Hugh McElroy, John Paul Mone and Kieran Hughes all missed the McKenna Cup through injury - are they all likely to be back for Sunday?

I know very little about Galway at this stage - what is their team looking like compared to last year?

A week to go, so it's about time to get this up and running!

Odds to win (from PPower):
Kerry  9/4 
Cork  5/2 
Dublin  4/1 
Mayo  7/1 
Galway  10/1 
Down  11/1 
Armagh  14/1 
Monaghan  25/1 

Boylesports is similar to Paddy Power. Interestingly Ladbrokes bucks the trend:
Cork  11/4   
Kerry  7/2   
Dublin  9/2   
Down  15/2
Monaghan  10/1   
Mayo  15/2
Armagh  10/1   
Galway  10/1 


Odds to drop (from PPower):
Monaghan 4/7 
Armagh  11/10 
Down  13/8 
Galway  15/8 
Mayo  5/2 
Dublin  5/1 
Kerry  8/1 
Cork  10/1 

I'm not sure of the basis on which Mayo and Galway in particular are deemed relatively safe with Paddy Power. And i'd expect Down to have had shorter odds to win as well. I don't see much difference at this stage between Armagh, Monaghan, Mayo and Galway.

Once again, Monaghan are aiming for survival and like last year, are one of the favourites to drop. Although it's difficult to call at the minute, not knowing the panel. The McKenna Cup matches don't really give any indication of what is to come.

On paper, this year is an easier draw for Monaghan than 2010. We have 4 home games against Galway, Mayo, Dublin and Kerry and two of the away games (Down and Armagh) are local enough; Cork is the only roadtrip (last year we had 4 away games: Galway, Mayo, Dublin and Kerry - all losses). Three of the home games in Inniskeen should also make for a good atmosphere and make the most of the home advantage.

6 points is the aim (although as with last year, 4 can work) and I feel there are definitely 6 points there for Monaghan to take. Galway next weekend should be a target.

[Smyths toy shop pays out after bike falls from shelf]

Smyths toy shop pays out after bike falls from shelf
Wednesday, 12 January 2011

A two-year-old girl who suffered post-traumatic stress after a bicycle crashed to the ground in front of her in a toy shop has received a €10,000 settlement.

Barrister David Staunton told the Circuit Civil Court yesterday that little Katie Campbell narrowly escaped physical injury when the bike fell directly in her path from a shelf 14ft above her head.

He said Katie, who is now almost six, had been with her father, John Campbell, of Foxbrook, Ratoath, Co Meath, in October, 2007, browsing in the Smyths Toys shop in the Airside Retail Park, Swords, Co Dublin, when the incident happened.

Mr Staunton told Circuit Court President Mr Justice Matthew Deery that the bicycle had not struck Katie but she had afterwards shown signs of anxiety and suffered nightmares.

He told the court that her GP had referred her to consultant child psychologist Mr Andrew Conway.

On the basis of symptoms including hypersensitivity to noise such as thunderstorms and fireworks, and an unwillingness to engage with other children, Mr Conway diagnosed her as having suffered a post-traumatic reaction of a moderate type.

Mr Campbell, a social worker, was unable to attend court with his daughter yesterday.

Mr Justice Deery approved a €10,000 settlement offer by Smyths Toys Ltd and costs.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/smyths-toy-shop-pays-out-after-bike-falls-from-shelf-15052226.html


Crazy stuff.