Will the greens pull the plug?

[rossie mad]

personally id vote for fianna fail again simply because i think the only politician on the other side of the house worth his salt is richard bruton. in fact i think he is one of the better politicians in dail eireann. the rest wouldnt run a race in my eyes never mind a goverment.

the lot that are there now are the best of a bad lot.

And so the FF campaign of discrediting the opposition begins again. Lets not get this poster mixed up with those we often think are so stupid they shouldn't be allowed to vote, this is nothing other than FF at work. This is not your everyday floating voter this is a voter at the heart of FF.

How can you decipher what party i am?

im just as angry as most of the country against the clear faults and wrongdoings of this goverment.

my point is what is the other side of the house is just as incompetent.

im not a fianna fail supporter.i voted for them the last time because i believed in the candidate in my constituioncy and not because it was fianna fail.i voted for a fine gael councillor in the council elections and i voted no to lisbon. so how can you call me the heart of fianna fail?

your obviously the heart of fine gael if you get so worked up over my prevoius post.

[Tubberman]

personally id vote for fianna fail again simply because i think the only politician on the other side of the house worth his salt is richard bruton. in fact i think he is one of the better politicians in dail eireann. the rest wouldnt run a race in my eyes never mind a goverment.

the lot that are there now are the best of a bad lot.

Apologies in advance for the language, but it's shite like the above that makes me despair about the future of this country.
That shower of muppets in FF have been in government for 15 years and look where we are.
And you'd vote the same lazy, arrogant, incompotent wasters back in again! 
Perhaps FG/Lab wouldn't be much better, but they're surely worth a chance. The thought of the same bunch leading the country for another decade would make me sick.
And that gobshite Bertie Ahern is going on The Late Late tonight - no doubt the audienc will be made up of fawning followers there to cheer the great man. That fella has a lot more to answer for than Brian Cowen or Brian Lenihan, who he was left to shoulder all the blame. Teflon Taoiseach, spot on.

[oakleafgael]

Deiseach,

Your reply doesnt really deserve a response but humour me and tell me where are these rabbits torn apart?

Sorry. Should have said hares

Deiseach,

Add all the little smilies you like but you are showing your ignorance again. For the last 10 years greyhounds have been muzzled for coursing. If it wasnt for the efforts of the coursing clubs in Ireland then the Irish Hare would be an endangered species.

[rossie mad]

personally id vote for fianna fail again simply because i think the only politician on the other side of the house worth his salt is richard bruton. in fact i think he is one of the better politicians in dail eireann. the rest wouldnt run a race in my eyes never mind a goverment.

the lot that are there now are the best of a bad lot.

What would it take for you too vote against FF. At the moment a shit throwing  chimp couldn't do worse than FF.

Well it isnt about voting against fianna fail.

if a candidate is good enough in my constituency and i believe in him or her they get my vote whether fianna fail, fine gael or christian solidarity.

if kenny was removed as leader of the opposition and a competent politician like r bruton or simon coveney replaced him well then in my eyes i would believe we would have a good voice for ireland however that chimp is about the only hope we have over both sides of dail eireann

[Aerlik]

If it wasnt for the efforts of the coursing clubs in Ireland then the Irish Hare would be an endangered species.

Fair enough about the muzzles, but how have coursing clubs saved the hare?  We have loads of hares around our place at home.  I remember watching the mother going around to all the leverets in turn to feed them.  Used to leave them in the grown grass plots where cow poo had been.

[rossie mad]

personally id vote for fianna fail again simply because i think the only politician on the other side of the house worth his salt is richard bruton. in fact i think he is one of the better politicians in dail eireann. the rest wouldnt run a race in my eyes never mind a goverment.

the lot that are there now are the best of a bad lot.

Apologies in advance for the language, but it's shite like the above that makes me despair about the future of this country.
That shower of muppets in FF have been in government for 15 years and look where we are.
And you'd vote the same lazy, arrogant, incompotent wasters back in again! 
Perhaps FG/Lab wouldn't be much better, but they're surely worth a chance. The thought of the same bunch leading the country for another decade would make me sick.
And that gobshite Bertie Ahern is going on The Late Late tonight - no doubt the audienc will be made up of fawning followers there to cheer the great man. That fella has a lot more to answer for than Brian Cowen or Brian Lenihan, who he was left to shoulder all the blame. Teflon Taoiseach, spot on.

I only expressed my opinion. can i not vote for who i want? i dont go off my head when people tell me who or what they vote.

bertie went along with all the vested interests and thought it would last forever then when it was getting hot under the collar he instated his yes man.

[oakleafgael]

If it wasnt for the efforts of the coursing clubs in Ireland then the Irish Hare would be an endangered species.

Fair enough about the muzzles, but how have coursing clubs saved the hare?  We have loads of hares around our place at home.  I remember watching the mother going around to all the leverets in turn to feed them.  Used to leave them in the grown grass plots where cow poo had been.

Aerlik,

Hare coursing has a yearly ban imposed in Northern Ireland, introduced by a direct rule minister, take a bow Ms OWC. A recent independent study carried out by Queens University found that the number of the Irish Hare in Northern Ireland is in serious decline whilst figures produced in the south show the hare population to be in a very healthy state. I have eyes of my own and can see the stocks dwindling year on year.

When coursing clubs are preparing for their annual meeting they hares are held in a reserve for some weeks before hand where they are exceptionally well cared for and rigourous helath checks are undertaken. In the hare reserves at the coursing fields they are safe from predators. After the meeting all hares are returned to the exact location from where they where originally taken.  Coursing clubs take great steps to protect the hares from poaching by gangs with packs of lurchers.

[Zapatista]

I don't buy it Rossie.

If I hear ''people are angry at the Government right now - and rightly so - but lets not blah blah blah" I might just go mad.

All I heard during the last election from the local FFers was - aye the Government are different I'm running for the local. I'm a local guy blah blah. Turns out they are all the same.

FF are the biggest threat to Ireland since the blight.

[deiseach]

Add all the little smilies you like but you are showing your ignorance again. For the last 10 years greyhounds have been muzzled for coursing. If it wasnt for the efforts of the coursing clubs in Ireland then the Irish Hare would be an endangered species.

You're quite right, I did not know that. Apologies.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Its all posturing out of the Greens. FF will fob them off with promises of a few cycle lanes and windfarms and they'll fall into line. They'd be absolutely wiped out if there was an election in the next month or two.

Personally I think FG and Lab are better off out of government at the moment as well. The economy is going to get worse before it gets better and FF will continue to ship the blame and lose support.

Whether a change of government would be better for the country at this time, I don't know. I'd certainly give FG and Lab a chance. As a previous poster has already mentioned though, FG have in their ranks one of the best performers in the Dáil in Richard Bruton. FG would be a more viable option with him at the helm instead of the wooden Inda.

[Tubberman]

The country is on the brink of a snap General Election today as negotiations between Fianna Fáil and the Green Party for a new Programme for Government falter.

Green Party Ministers are believed to be on the verge of withdrawing from Government as both parties struggle to conclude difficult negotiations on a new programme.

It is currently looking unlikely that agreement can be reached.

Education and the reform of politician's expenses are thought to be the main stumbling blocks.

Cork Senator and Green Party chairman Dan Boyle, a member of the Green negotiating team, today said that if agreement was not reached by mid-afternoon, the Green Party ministers were seriously considering pulling out of Government.

Senator Boyle said the talks had become frustrating.

"There's an air of unreality on the part of the Fianna Fáil team in terms of what they can and can't do, and what being in Government is going to be like for them for the next two or three years," he said.

He said that both sides were aware that should the talks collapse, it would lead to a disastrous General Election for both parties.

Meetings of the Green Party parliamentary party meeting and the National Executive Council of the party were going on today. Party leader John Gormley was also expected to meet with Taoiseach Brian Cowen over the course of the day.

About 700 Green Party members were due to meet in Dublin's RDS tomorrow to vote on the new Programme for Government, and the Nama legislation.

Senator Boyle said he would be confident that the party members would support a new Programme for Government, but added that securing a programme to put before members was looking uncertain this morning.

Green Party members around the country have been told not to make any definite travel arrangements for the time being, indicating the meeting may not go ahead, or could become an election rally.


Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/ff-have-air-of-unreality-at-programme-for-government-talks-429583.html#ixzz0TS5ULmTR

If they're still just playing games with FF, they're pretty convincing!
Looks like we could have a GE before xmas. I won't believe it until I hear it from Gormley or Cowen though...
Also worth pointing out that RTÉ aren't reporting negotiations to be so close to collapse. 

[armaghniac]

You have to wonder about the opposition too. Labour issued a statement saying that a fall in prices was not a reason to cut welfare. Of course if prices had risen then this would be a reason to raise welfare. When the country is broke is no time for real welfare increases.

[rossie mad]

Fianna fail like labour in britain had it too good in the good times and didnt do enough to improve the countries infrastructure,health system and homegrown industry.

However they are now having to make the tough decisions and getting plenty of flak for it in the process (rightly so ) and i see this as a good thing in that they actually are doing things that will actually help this country in the long term and this in turn is making them better politicians instead of going with the gravy train like they were used too.

It might sound bizarre but i believe because they got us into this mess they might actually try harder to get us out of it.

Then when or if they do get us out of the recession get rid of them. then see what the rest of them mite do differently.

[AZOffaly]

I said before the last election that the best thing for Fianna Fail to do in their own selfish interests would have been to not agree any coalition deal, and spend a term in opposition. That way when Labour/FG/Greens etc etc started flailing about trying to sort out the mess, Fianna Fail could tutt tutt away meaningfully in the corner. By the last election, everyone knew what was coming down the pipes, and I thought it was a massive gamble at the time for Cowen to take the reins in those circumstances.

FF seem to have taken another tack, i.e. that being in power is better than being out of power, no matter what, and they hope to hunker down and ride the storm, hoping a global turnaround will lift all boats, thus allowing them to show what great lads they were, and how their tough decisions have paid off.

That's looking like a highly toxic decision at the moment. Better for them for FG and Labour to be wading through sh*t, and even if they blamed FF for the mess, the public would be harder on the government than the opposition.

Of course it may happen yet, but I don't know if FG and Lab actually have the stomach to try and mop up at the moment. Timing is everything in politics, and FG and Lab would like to catch the wave coming up rather than down.

What's the math by the way? If the Greens walk, then the Government are down 6. Will the independents walk as well, or will O'Donoghue moving to a normal seat, probably with Howlin moving to Ceann Comhairle still make FF viable?

[Aerlik]

I'm no fan of any kind of bloodsport.  However I do believe in the culling of pests, when and where it is warranted.  If I could I would get a gun licence here because of the damage done by feral cats and foxes.  Some of the cats are so healthy in the bush they look as big as dingoes.

That is sad to hear about the progressive demise of the hare.  Other species I know that are on the decline are the bullfinch, snowbunting, linnet, reed bunting and one of our most beautiful wee birds the Goldfinch