Irish Politics Thread

So, the Dáil debated legislating the X case today. And for some unfathomable reason decided to debate until 5am in the morning without even having a deadline or so.....it comes back up for more debating and amendments tomorrow. Why they decided to stay up until 5am to just debate the bill I cannot tell you.

This happened at one point.

Dumbo

Honestly, this is why, despite being uncomfortable with the idea of abortion, I am pro-choice. The pro-life movement is just so full of blatant sexism that I want nothing to do with it.

Direct all enquiries to Jamie B Good

I have just found out that there is a Bar in Leinster House.

It explains so goddamn much.

They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!

Yes I was, um, quite shocked to discover that.

God.

Dumbo

Is this thread just for the Republic, or could we discuss marching season and the nastiness in Stroke Country?

Schild und Schwert der Partei

I think Northern Ireland is covered in the British Politics thread.....even though it's technically not British. (Although it is in the British Isles. But then the Republic is British....)

Dumbo

"Technically not British" - ooh, minefield alert there

edited 14th Jul '13 3:34:03 PM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei

Yeahhhhhh maybe.

Maybe the British thread should be renamed United Kingdom politics in case it's ambiguous (who knows what scandals may come out about the Isle of Man in the future. Or good news. If you believe in political good news.)

Dumbo

John Gilligan seriously injured in a shooting in Dublin. You may remember Gilligan as the man suspected of ordering the fatal hit on Veronica Guerin in 1996. He had just been released from prison after a lengthy trial.

How unfortunate. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. As the Good Book Says...:

- Matthew 26:52 KJV

edited 1st Mar '14 4:16:52 PM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei

Gerry Adams arrested for the 1972 murder of Jean McConville, and then released without charge (though he's stated that he still might face charges).

http://www.thejournal.ie/gerry-adams-pess-conference-1448690-May2014/

Meanwhile, there's 18 days until the local and European elections, and it's looking like of the 11 seats, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin will get 3 each, 2 seats will go to independents and Labour and Fianna Fáil will get at least 1 seat each, with the final seat either Labour or Fianna Fáil too.

edited 5th May '14 12:21:50 PM by QueenPanic

People still vote Fianna Fail?

Huh. Interesting that Adams may well not be charged with McConville's murder; the PSNI seem to have kicked it upstairs to the Prosecution Service. The McConville family may well sue him in civil court though. He called for calm after being released, which made me respect him slightly more. Still, if he had anything to do with Jean McConville's disappearance, he deserves to be punished.

edited 5th May '14 12:25:44 PM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei

I watched some CNN analysis of that case a couple of days ago.

Some former IRA members have given confidential interviews to researchers at the Boston University, on the condition that the interviews remain unpublished until the interviewees are dead. Some of them have since died, enabling the release of the interviews - including one that seems to implicate Gerry Adams in the McConville case. Adams has denied that he was ever an IRA member, but the interviews seem to depict him as a major figure within the IRA.

Irish and UK authorities are now trying to gain access to all of the tapes, and US authorities say that they might have to accept the demands regardless of the stance taken by the University that holds the tapes. Kerry says releasing the tapes could destabilise the region and destroy some of the progress that peace talks have achieved over the past couple of decades.

My opinion is that the tapes should be released to the police, who can then use their discretion when it comes to releasing information about the tapes - protecting the interviewees from retaliatory actions would be vital. If the tapes contain enough information to justify a trial of Gerry Adams or anyone else such a trial should take place.

Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

release it to the police and it'll spread and be a matter of time before it's completely leaked.

I'm baaaaaaack

It's insane, but at least they aren't anywhere near their old popularity. Yet, anyway.

Alan Shatter's resigned as Justice Minister. Didn't see that coming, even with all the controversy around him.

Shatter resigned after reading three chapters of the Guerin report. It's obviously very critical of him and the Gardaí, and he got out while the going was comparably good.

They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!

So, who's everyone voting for today?
I'm gonna go Sinn Féin and various small parties. They're the only ones who haven't fucked us over yet.

It's also my first time voting, ever. Yay.

They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!

Same, it's my first time too.

I posted it in the European thread already, but I ended up giving my first vote to Paul Murphy from the Socialist Party and then Bríd Smith from PBP. I don't think either of them will get in, so I gave my next vote to Costello from Labour, because she doesn't seem too bad even though I swore I wasn't voting for Labour. I'm kind of regretting that one a bit though. I don't think she'll get in either, and I don't mind that too much, so I gave Lynn Boylan from Sinn Féin my last transfer. It's her, FG's Brian Hayes and FF's Mary Fitzpatrick who are the favouriteS to get the three seats, and I'd prefer to see her in than those two.

Well, sort of. Like I said in the European thread, I'd actually love to see Hayes in, but only because he's one of my local T Ds, and if he goes, we can elect someone else to the Dáíl. I don't actually want to give him my vote though.

edited 23rd May '14 9:00:54 AM by QueenPanic

I went Maurice Quinlavan, Sinn Féin; Cian Predenville, Anti Austerity Alliance; Denis Mc Carthy, Fine Gael (he lives a five-minute walk away, and we have trouble with the sewage system around here, so having a local guy on the council could help), then the Independents and smaller parties.

They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!

I voted Fine Gael for the local council too, our local candidate's sent us lots of helpful information about the council and the local area, and was basically the only one who came around the houses. I was a bit reluctant, because he's Fine Gael, but I just said feck it, and went for him. They changed my electoral area, so most of our councillors aren't even from the local area anymore, but he is, and he has been doing work around here, and genuinely making an effort, so he got my vote.

Sinn Féin has secured the single biggest number of first preference votes in Northern Ireland's local government elections, while across the border in the Republic it won 25% of the vote and its highest number of councillors.

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016

Well, fuck bunnies. Lookslike I should've read the article a bit better.

edited 12th Jun '14 11:17:31 PM by tclittle

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."

Uh, that article is about Scotland not Ireland.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Then she's clearly 98 years too late

Schild und Schwert der Partei

Well, fuck bunnies. Looks like I should've read the article a bit better.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."

You're grand, there's even a trope about confusing Scotland and Ireland.

Just to mention some real Irish politics, there's going to be an investigation into the mother-and-baby homes run by the Catholic church during the twentieth century, with the Protestant run Bethany Home also being included. Hopefully some good will come of it, there's still a lot of people alive today who suffered because these homes and the social circumstances behind them.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/inquiry-into-mother-and-baby-homes-to-be-set-up-1.1826875

edited 13th Jun '14 4:46:59 AM by QueenPanic