Republic – Page 45 – Slugger O'Toole

“I am disappointed at the discriminatory attitude of the IFA to this issue.”

Pete Baker on June 29, 2009, 10:13 pm

| Readers 16

Previously Sinn Féin had called on the Irish Farmers’ Association “to reconsider their partitionist and negative position”, after the IFA had criticised the Irish Government for awarding a €350,000 contract to a non Bord Bia Assured chicken processing company outside the Republic [Crossgar Poultry]. Today the Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister, Sinn Féin’s Michelle Gildernew, has accused the IFA of having a “discriminatory attitude” and has said that “[she] will be contacting Minister O’Dea to clarify his position on this matter …

Sshh.. don’t tell anyone..

Pete Baker on June 26, 2009, 12:26 am

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Announcing the signing of a contract to build four new schools previously, the fact that it is being financed through a Public Private Partnership was relegated to the ‘Notes to Editors’ in the official statement by the Northern Ireland Edcuation Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitríona Ruane. Yesterday the NI Education Minister “cut the first sod” on “the site of the new £3.5million accommodation” of one of those schools, St Mary’s Primary School, Portglenone. This time there’s not even a ‘note to …

“Ireland is undergoing a painful adjustment as critical internal imbalances unwind.”

Pete Baker on June 25, 2009, 3:41 pm

| Readers 2

It’s still more art than science, but the IMF have issued a Public Information Notice [PIN] on Ireland’s economic fortunes – IMF staff report here [pdf file]. Whilst in the Irish Times, and on RTÉ, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is accentuating the positive, the BBC report highlights the less than positive aspects – the Irish Times summarises the report here. A non-economist looks at the report, and an economist picks out a couple of points of interest on institutional reform. …

“we cannot put submarine cables near disputed border regions.”

Pete Baker on June 22, 2009, 7:15 pm

| Readers 35

Mick has mentioned the battle of the backyards that erupted over Project Kelvin. And if the incinerator discussion lacked a convenient place to stick a flag on, the argument over Kelvin proved readily amenable to our local politicians, and others, taking predictable sides. But, as the new cable comes ashore at Portrush before being routed to a tele-house/data centre in Londonderry, it’s worth pointing to the reported comments of Derek Bullock, Vice President of Network Operations Hibernia Atlantic, at a …

Ireland’s government can only get smarter by outsourcing analysis, and sharing its data…

Mick Fealty on June 22, 2009, 4:36 pm

| Readers 3

There’s a central character in Martin Lynch’s play Dockers called Buckets McGuinness. I can’t remember too much of the detail (it’s more than 25 years since I saw it at the Lyric), but the brashness of the name stuck. It could adequately describe the cavalier way the Irish government treated the apparently largesse of the Irish Tiger boom years… Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow, for we’ll be broke… As though Ireland was a nation of casuals whose docks …

“I call on the IFA to reconsider their partitionist and negative position..”

Pete Baker on June 18, 2009, 7:32 pm

| Readers 16

Apparently it’s not just the Irish public who are unpatriotic, it’s the Irish government too. Of course the criticism, by the Irish Farmers’ Association, of the Department of Defence’s awarding of a €350,000 contract to a non Bord Bia Assured chicken processing company outside the Republic [Crossgar Poultry] hasn’t gone unnoticed.. From Sinn Féin MLA Willie Clarke “At this time of economic hardship we need a greater degree of support and harmonisation across Ireland in order to assist our indigenous …

FOIs in the Republic: a richman’s hobby…

Mick Fealty on June 17, 2009, 5:50 pm

| Readers 4

I’ve put in a few FOIs over the years. It’s difficult art. If it’s controversial in any way you nearly need to know the name and number of the document, before the civil servant will give it to you… You need to develop a fine understanding of the working of government to make them effectively… However in the south, it’s a costly business. And this morning, dropping the charges to citizens for making such requests was one of the things …

Leader’s Questions Live blog…

Mick Fealty on June 17, 2009, 2:19 pm

| Readers 0

Okay, I’m going to try this for a week or two. We’re going to run a three or four live blogs a week, mostly based on three parliaments: Dublin; Edinburgh and Wesminster… Leaders Questions in the Dail is first up (they go twice a week, Tuesday afternoons and this morning in five minutes as it happens… We’ll slot the Assembly in as and when the FM and dFM can make themselves available… You can pick up this morning’s proceedings here …

Why did Sinn Fein not ‘close the deal’ in the south?

Mick Fealty on June 15, 2009, 2:21 pm

| Readers 13

It’s pretty obvious that for now, the deal between Sinn Fein and the Northern Irish nationalist population is effectively closed. In Northern Ireland, nationalism delivered an ‘as you were’ result, not dissimilar to the one it delivered two years ago, which rewarded Sinn Fein with three Ministerial seats, and the SDLP with one. Not so in the Republic, where Eoin O’Broin notes that his party failed to close the deal with a growing number of people who are falling away …

O’Leary: united Ireland depends on three key stakeholder groups…

Mick Fealty on June 15, 2009, 3:03 am

| Readers 44

As Pete noted the first of Sinn Fein’s fora for a united Ireland took place in Manhattan today. We were lucky enough to have one of our readers and commenters there. He comments under the name USA. Gerry Adams spoke about the need for a “huge outreach to our Unionist brothers and sisters” and about “nation building”. Also there was Senator John Schumer who apparently arrived late and left early. Brian Keenan, the author, not the IRA man, who was …

Is it to be cultural inclusion, or exclusion…

Mick Fealty on June 12, 2009, 8:50 pm

| Readers 3

I’m afraid it’s sport again. Specifically Gregory Campbell is making the reasonable plea to have the UK Olympics team drop the term Team GB, since it doesn’t encompass those people from Northern Ireland who legitimately compete for the team. But one sharp reader asks how does this stance sit with Nelson McCausland’s view that the word Irish should be dropped from British and Irish Lions? Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of …

Is Foras feathering its own nest whilst the language burns?

Mick Fealty on June 11, 2009, 12:47 pm

| Readers 151

Concubhar O’Liathan is a former editor of La Nua, and now runs his own up-to-the-minute Irish language blog iGaeilge is purturbed at the news that at time of falling revenues and deepening recession, Foras na Gaeilge (the Irish language government agency is preparing to let go the last regular Irish langauge newspaper (outside An Druma Mor), even as it continues recruit new staff members. On one level of course there a recession on; and the belt-tightening has to affect all …

Cllr Christy Burke resigns from Sinn Fein…

Mick Fealty on June 9, 2009, 5:34 pm

| Readers 90

There’s a major ruck going over at politics.ie , starting with a rumour about a senior SF rep resigning, then hardening into reported fact on the lunch time news on Rte… Now the issue there is whether he was a senior figure in the party or not… Well, he was the chosen candidate to run in the Dublin Central by election… That brings the party’s total down to six councillors in Dublin (it still says seven on RTE and Elections …

Mary Lou slips in anti government shoot out for last Dublin seat…

Mick Fealty on June 8, 2009, 2:02 pm

| Readers 3

The Dublin count took it’s slow grinding route and a Socialist was elected to a European Parliament that has swung significantly to the right… Joe Higgins got his nose in front at the beginning and with each successive transfer of votes, slowly lengthened the gap until the sixth count he was 5k ahead. In the end he took just under a half of the Sinn Fein transfers, but it was enough to take him well past Fianna Fail’s Eoin Ryan…. …

Wicklow candidates scrapped it out on polling day?

Mick Fealty on June 7, 2009, 12:29 pm

| Readers 31

Nothing in the MSM, but Slugger hears there was a pretty heavy ‘contratemps’ outside a Rathnew primary school in Wicklow between John Snell of Sinn Fein and the brother of Fianna Fail’s Jane Dignam… You can see how that particular political scrap resolves itself here… Counting has not yet begun… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking …

The European race for Dublin…

Mick Fealty on June 7, 2009, 11:24 am

| Readers 3

It’s easy to forget that the picture we have for both Euro polls, north and south, are based on a guestimate of how face down ballots are read by party workers. In Northern Ireland, we’re pretty certain who poll topper will be, and who’s likely to slip badly. But judging who actually gets two and three is a little tougher, since besides difficulties of sampling without the proactive help of staff, there’s the selection bias of each party’s estimates. We …

Live Blog: Local elections in the Republic…

Mick Fealty on June 6, 2009, 12:53 pm

| Readers 1

Right, we are going to be following the southern local government count today (just when you thought it was safe), with a live blog of our own. If you want the genuine southern article, Suzy and co have already moved in… It starts about 9, but we don’t expect the action to start until 11am… Follow Sean O’Rourke and Rachel English on RTE radio from 11am until 4pm. Catch the TV coverage from 1-2 and 4-6 in the pm at …

Fine Gael prepared to work with Sinn Fein (to unseat Eoin Ryan)?

Mick Fealty on June 1, 2009, 3:19 pm

| Readers 3

I didn’t see it at the time, but there was the strangest line yesterday’s Irish Mail on Sunday from Fine Gael’s director of elections Frank Flannery, saying his party was prepared to work with Sinn Féin at some future point. Paul O’Brien in the Examiner reckons he has unearthed a viable rationale: Judging by Dermot Ahern’s remarks, Fianna Fáil believes Mr Flannery’s comments are aimed at persuading Fine Gael supporters to give their transfers, or second preferences, to Sinn Féin. …

Irish Times polling figures

Pete Baker on May 30, 2009, 8:40 pm

| Readers 3

In the Irish Times Stephen Collins looks at the results of what seems to have been some fairly rigorous polling. [“The poll was conducted from Tuesday to Thursday of this week among a representative sample of 2,000 voters. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 500 people in each of the four Euro constituencies. The margin of error is 2 per cent.”] Overall party performances here. And Cian has more EU details at Irish Election. But of particular interest may be the …

Is that a ministerial hat you’re wearing?

Pete Baker on May 26, 2009, 10:16 pm

| Readers 9

In a statement on the Sinn Féin website, Michelle Gildernew, MP, MLA, marks out the latest target in the “freedom struggle”. The headline on the statement is “Gildernew calls for the removal of UK status for exported products”. But, despite failing to appear yet on the Northern Ireland Executive website, the statement quotes Michelle Gildernew in her official ministerial capacity.. The Minister for Agriculture concluded, “I think it was often said, during the BSE crisis, that there is no such …