Next week Fine Gael is launching a site called Nationaldebt.ie – complete with one of those clocks that keeps moving upwards with Ireland’s national debt on it. They even have stats on the debt per household and per person. You can get a sneak preview on Leo Varadkar’s website. Our national debt increases by €35,578 [...]
Entries from April 2010
Fine Gael’s full of the joys
April 29th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Irish Politics
Tags:Business·Financial Services·Fine Gael·Leo Varadkar·Politics
CIE Chair’s pension – Giving uppable?
April 28th, 2010 · 5 Comments · Irish Politics
You may not have noticed that the government reappointed John Lynch as chairperson of CIE last week. Lynch who is 68 was previously CEO of FAS, (pre Roddy days) for which he is paid €100,000 each year in a pension. He has been Chair of CIE for 10 years – his salary as chair of [...]
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And then there were Seven
April 27th, 2010 · 7 Comments · Irish Politics
So as expected there were politicians giving up and ‘voluntarily forgoing’ their pensions all day. Labour’s 3 ministerial pension holders went first (not before time) followed by the Fine Gael crew (not before time either) and then came Bertie (Fianna Fáil were so fed up dealing with requests from the Press for comments on Bertie [...]
Tags:Brian Cowen·Fianna Fáil·Ireland·Jim McDaid·Liam Aylward·Michael Woods·Politics
Lesbianism, Prisons and absolute bunkum
April 26th, 2010 · 13 Comments · Equality, Social Policy
Did any of the many public figures who commented yesterday on the resignation of Kathleen McMahon as governor of the Dochas Centre in Mountjoy say anything about her comments on overcrowding causing an increase in lesbianism in the prison? Ms McMahon said the regime within the centre had been designed to treat women with dignity [...]
Former FG Cllr to join Labour in Donegal North East?
April 26th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Irish Politics
The Donegal News reports this that former Fine Gael member and current current Letterkenny Town Councillor Jimmy Harte is considering joining the Labour Party. The paper reports that Councillor Harte confirmed contact had been made by senior Labour Party officials in recent weeks. He is considering the proposition and the carrot of a nomination to [...]
Tags:Donegal North East·Fine Gael·Joe McHugh·Labour·Mae Sexton·Politics
And now for the rest of them…
April 26th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Irish Politics
Maire Geoghegan-Quinn has relented and given up her pensions from the state until she has finished her term of office as a European Commissioner. So can we now name all the male politicians who are taking TD’s and Ministerial pensions whilst under the age of 66 and employed and ensure that they too ‘donate’ these [...]
Bertie Earners are up 25%
April 20th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Irish Politics
Thanks to Ken Foxe in last weekend’s Sunday Tribune for the discovery that the cost of a Bertie Earner has risen by approximately 25% this year. And that’s before first class travel expenses for himself and his travelling companion are added on. The Washington Speakers Bureau still list the four types of speech that Bertie [...]
Tags:Bertie Ahern·Bertie Earner·Communications·Public Speaking·Speakers Bureaus
Cocktailgate ends – Angostura Bitters return
April 17th, 2010 · 6 Comments · Uncategorized
That little bottle of bitters which many consider crucial to cocktail making has been in short supply in recent months due a shortage of bottles. Angostura Bitters are made in Trinidad and the company has been making them for nearly 200 years. (The recipe is a secret) They have found a new bottle supplier so [...]
Tags:Angostura bitters·Breaking News·Cocktail·Rachel Maddow·Trinidad
Michael D. Higgins at #LP10
April 16th, 2010 · 7 Comments · Irish Politics
Just finished speaking in Galway at the Labour Party Conference, Michael D. Higgins TD. Stunning, actually I don’t have words to describe it, I’m just grateful to have him around and to be able to listen, we don’t make orators like that anymore.
Tags:#lp10
Labour UK’s Animations
April 16th, 2010 · No Comments · Social Media
I’m getting my fill of elections and politics at the moment by watching as much as possible on the happenings across the water and less so up the road in Northern Ireland. As interesting as the politics is the communication methods being used, the lessons learnt from US Election 2008 and the moves forward that [...]
Tags:#ge10·election·Labour·Manifesto·Parties·Political party·Politics·Youtube
