Last night I went along to a meeting of bloggers and politicians arranged by Green TD Ciaran Cuffe. A tour of the Green party offices was followed by a round table discussion involving between about twenty bloggers, Cuffe, John Gormley and Deirdre de Burca. Eventually, we got to the point: How can politicians best use… Continue reading Listen and Learn
Tag: Greens
Twits
Apprentice star Bill Cullen blasted the Greens as hypocritical after the party’s Twitter described him as a ‘permatanned snake-oil selling charlatan‘. The message was posted at the weekend by a party worker, and later deleted ‘as the tone was inappropriate’. Millionaire Cullen, who became a household name after writing the bestseller ‘It’s A Long Way… Continue reading Twits
De Mare
Dublin is to get a new directly-elected mayor within a year. The first directly elected city leader will be chosen by the capital’s citizens next summer. ‘2010 will see the direct election, by the people of the Dublin region, of a highly-visible and accountable Mayor who will have the authority and powers to deliver real… Continue reading De Mare
Bad News Bears
There’s a lot of shooting the messenger going on at the moment. An article in the New York Times, or a wrong word in a report from the IMF, and they’re off. ‘There has been comment which has been neither helpful nor, in my view, appropriate, and I would like to move on from that,’… Continue reading Bad News Bears
Celebrity Games
Fianna Fail are set to trump the Fine Gael coup in landing George Lee as an election candidate, announcing the Seoige Sisters as MEP candidates in the Ireland Northwest constituency. Stung by the news that one of their harshest economic critics is set to take the hustings for the opposition, party mandarins immediately met in… Continue reading Celebrity Games
Greenhorn
Trevor Sargent was in Kilkenny yesterday. The junior minister for food and horticulture spent his day handing out postcards at the Ploughing Championship, in response to complaints from farmers about food labelling regulations. The postcards, addressed to the EU consumer commissioner, carried a simple message: ‘We need to know where our food comes from’. Farmers… Continue reading Greenhorn
Experience
Consider the following: Biffo and Dermot Ahern were solicitors. Micheál Martin, Mary Harney, Mary Hanafin and Noel Dempsey were secondary school teachers. Mary Coughlan was a social worker. Brian Lenihan was a lecturer and qualified barrister. Willie O’Dea was a qualified barrister and accountant. Batt O’Keeffe was a lecturer. Brendan Smith was a political handler.… Continue reading Experience
Ich bin ein Hamburger
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has outlined a package of measures aimed at saving €440m in public spending this year. In an unexpected move, the Cabinet announced it would set an example for other state agencies by curbing its own excesses. Taoiseach Brian Cowen will lead the way, restricting himself to traditional ballads during late night… Continue reading Ich bin ein Hamburger