Champagne Socialist Gilmore wants €190,000 salary

Champagne Socialist Eamon Gilmore has said that he will "cut" his salary to €190,000 a year should he become the next Taoiseach.

The Labour leader has shocked much of his grassroots support by not making more radical cuts to the over paid position of Taoiseach while the rest of the country faces extreme economic hardship.

58% of people support SFs plan to default on Bank debt

A new poll in todays Independent shows that 58% of Irish people support SFs plan to default on Irelands banking debt.

61% of the public believe the EU/IMF deal is a bad one for Ireland, while 71% believe the Dail should be given a chance to vote on it. 54% believe the next government should not be bound by it.

Irish Independent predicts Labour/Sinn Féin government

Todays Independent has sensationally predicted that the next Irish government will be comprised of Labour, Sinn Féin and left wing independents.

The Indo, a traditional bastion of the Blueshirt movement has claimed that this coalition could win 87 seats in the next election.

Independent commentators have said that the weakness of Fine Gael in opposition and the desire of the majority of Irish people for real political change has led to a massive rise in support for Sinn Féin and other left wing candidates.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has ruled out coalition with Sinn Féin, but Finance spokesperson Joan Burton has refused to rule it out.

46% of people believe crisis will last a decade

A Red C poll in yesterdays News of the World paper found that 46% of Irish people believe that the current economic crisis will last up to a decade, and have little faith in either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael leading us out of it.

It also asked the public who they believed now had the most power over Ireland's destiny, it found that 41% believe the European Union now has the most power when it comes to running the country, while 36% say it is the International Monetary Fund.

When asked who had the least control, 59% said it was the Irish public.

politicalreform.ie says 24 seats for SF in next election

politicalreform.ie has predicted that Sinn Féin will take 24 seats in the next general election, while Fianna Fail drop to a record low of just 12 seats.

The Independent group also has Labour taking 48 seats, while the independents and other groups, such as the United Left Alliance, will take 15 seats. According to their detailed survey, the Green party will lose all their seats.

This is the second poll in a week that has Fianna Fail being annihilated in the next election, to the benefits of more left wing groups.

Predicted seats in next election from politicalreform.ie

Fine Gael     -  67 seats
Labour         -  48 seats
Sinn Féin     -   24 seats
Fianna Fail  -  12 seats
Greens        -   0 seats
Others         -   15 seats

Fine Gael: Labour wrong about cuts

Fine Gael frontbench spokesman Leo Varadkar has claimed that Labours plan to go without major cuts in the next budget is not "credible".

Mr Varadkar added that the differences between Fine Gael and Labour were "not insurmountable", but clearly hinted that Labour would have to alter their pre budget plan.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore ruled out coalition with Sinn Féin, indicating that he was prepared to make the changes needed to accommodate Fine Gael.

Government without Fianna Fail and Fine Gael "a real possibility"

Political commentators have claimed that for the first time in the history of this state, a government without Fianna Fail or Fine Gael is a real possibility.

Leading commentators have said that a combined coalition of Sinn Féin, Labour and the Green party could now out weight the combined strength of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Ireland has never had a government which did not include one of the two civil war giants.

Fine Gael propose cutting dole - but no cuts to TDs wages

PAY cuts for TDs and ministers are not included in Fine Gael’s four-year budget proposals — despite plans to slash welfare payments by €18 a week.

Enda Kenny has hinted that his party will not touch pensioners or the disabled, but over four hundred and thirty thousand people on the dole will be hit, as will loan parent families.

Government confirm record 32% deficit

The government has confirmed today that Irelands deficit for 2010 will be 32% -  the highest in the eurozone. This had been stated by Sinn Féin in their pre budget plan over a month ago, but at the time was denied by Fianna Fail and the Greens.

The true deficit of 32% is the result of the governments stubborn plan to recapitalise the banks.

Labour coalition with Fine Gael looks like unsteady partnership

Today Labour and Fine Gael released their alternative budget plans to the public in Dublin.

Both parties say they would reverse the cut in the minimum wage and increase DIRT tax to get people spending rather than saving. However that is where the similarities end.

 

Fine Gael said a Capital Gains Tax on property sales - including family homes, but not for those in negative equity - should be imposed rather than a property tax. It also said no income tax hikes would take place, though people would pay more with changes to credits and bands from 2012.
The party said it can make more savings through expenditure cuts, but would hike motor tax and increase the price of alcohol.

 

Labour offered a different view, stating no welfare cuts, a new 48% tax rate, higher taxes on second homes and cuts in reliefs are planned.

 

Despite the obvious differences in the two parties proposals, Eamon Gilmore has ruled out a "government of the left", saying he will not enter government with Sinn Féin. This means if they plan on entering government, Labour must do as the junior partner to a Fine Gael party that is very clear in its intention to introduce cuts to welfare.

A third of our young people planning to emigrate

One in three people aged between 18 and 24 are planning on emigrating in the next year, according to a new poll by Lansdowne Milward Browne for the Irish Examiner.

According to those carrying out the survey, this new generation of Irish emigrants are less likely to return home due to the advancement of technology, allowing people to maintain easier contact with family and friends. This would be disastrous for the future of our nation, experts say.

More than 65,000 people left Ireland over the past year, the highest rate since 1989.

Red C poll puts Sinn Féin ahead of Fianna Fail

A new Red C poll in todays Irish Sun puts Sinn Féin ahead of Fianna Fail in public support.

The new poll puts Sinn Féin on 16%, while Fianna Fail fall to 13%. With the Greens on 3%, this means that Sinn Féin now has as much support as the combined government coalition!

Full Poll

Fianna Fail   - 13%
Fine Gael     - 32%
Labour        - 24%
Sinn Féin     - 16%
Greens        -  3%
Independents/others  - 11%

Dilapidated schools lose repair funding

OVERCROWDED and dilapidated primary schools will lose €62m of the money they were supposed to get for building works this year.

Education Minister Mary Coughlan said that the money would not be speant due to delays caused by difficulties in the construction industry.

Very low tender prices quoted by some builders had been part of the problem, leading to delays in bringing projects to conclusion. The minister said in some cases the department had challenged quotes because they felt that builders would not be able to deliver the job at the price.

Another difficulty the department encountered was confirming the availability of a bond prior to a contract being awarded, as a result of uncertainty in the banking sector.
She said there were also increasing examples of contractors, sub-contractors and other professionals associated with school building projects going out of business while they were engaged on school projects.

Sinn Féin has called for unemployed construction workers to be taken on by a new state construction organisation, and put to work on Irelands much damaged infrastructure.

Sinn Féin "poverty" survey to be delivered to Leinster House

Sinn Féin have put together a survey of their members and supporters in the greater Dublin area to ascertain the true extent to which families are struggling financially and are being pushed into the hand of money lenders.

Sinn Féin called for the reintroduction of the Christmas Welfare Bonus to stop families being forced to go to moneylenders, and to boost the local economy. They are also the only representative party in the Dail who oppose the introductions of mass cuts in the next budget.

The party has also surveyed Dublin dole queues and post offices over the past two weeks to get a fuller picture of the hardships being endured by ordinary families this winter.

The research findings will be presented at the gates of Leinster House this morning by Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Social Protection Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Unimaginative Greens say no alternative to Bail out

Green party Minister for State Ciaran Cuffe has said that there was no alternative to accepting an €85 billion bail out from the EU/IMF.

The Green party attempted to pull out of government last week, but have been less than vocal with any criticism they might have of Fianna Fails four year plan.

Ferris slams reduction to minimum wage

Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris has condemned Fianna Fail's planned cuts to the minimum wage, and has suggested that excuses made by Brian Cowen for introducing the cuts are a "red herring"

Deputy Ferris said: "As Mark Twain once said there are ‘lies, damned lies and statistics.’ Comparing the minimum wage rate in this country to that of most EU states is a red herring. I wonder would the Taoiseach like to make a similar comparison between his salary and the salaries of most EU prime ministers or heads of state?

Cowen: Cutting minimum wage will not save country any money

Taoiseach Brian Cowen admitted in the Dail today that cuts to the minimum wage will not save any money for the Exchequer.
Mr Cowen made this startling revelation after being grilled by Eamon Gilmore. He reacted to his admission by stating that the cuts to the minimum wage might create jobs for unskilled and semi skilled workers.