Category: Sinn Féin

Shouting Match or Democracy… the Dáil Speaking Time Row

by dsmooney, posted in Dáil, Sinn Féin, Taoiseach

This article is an accompaniment to my recent Podcast episode entitled: “Shouting match or democracy? Dáil speaking time furore”. In this article I expand on some of my comments in the podcast, focusing on Sinn Féin’s tactics. I suggest that the aggressive approach to this issue from the Shinners stems from its comfort in being in situations of crisis and chaos and further add that this all stems from Sinn Féin struggling to reclaim some pre-eminence in Irish politics after its false dawn at the last general election 

From Oireachtas website: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/video-archive/dail-videos/
From Oireachtas TV https://www.oireachtas.ie/

One of the soundest political lessons I even heard came from the late, great Ben Briscoe. It was back in the late 1990s now, not long before my disastrous 1999 local election run.

It happened in Leinster House. I was there to meet up with Ben before attending a public meeting with him in Crumlin, at 8.00pm. We met in Ben’s office on the 4th floor of the five Storey block, and after a short chat we headed down to his car, which was parked at the back of Leinster lawn.

As we turned to exit Leinster House, Ben looked up to the live Dail Chamber monitor to a colleague from another party speaking in a debate. Ben nudged me and jokingly said, “ah, there he is, talking his way out of this place again.

This is just a story. An anecdote. It’s not a deep piece of political philosophy. But it still makes a point. The amount of time one speaks in the Dáil, doesn’t equate to getting things done.

If anything, it’s the opposite. Continue reading “Shouting Match or Democracy… the Dáil Speaking Time Row” →

My thoughts… with about one week until the start of #GE2024 campaign

by dsmooney, posted in Elections, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, independents, Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Féin, Tanaiste, Taoiseach
Bet the DUP didn’t know that this is what its slogan looks like as gaeilge… spotted in Cork
My latest MOONEY ON POLITICS podcast is based on the following text

Over the past few days, I’ve seen several political pundits offering their Irish election forecasts – offering a range of possible seat totals.

God bless their courage.

Until the campaign gets underway, I think it is wiser to avoid seat predictions, especially ones informed by polling. My main reason for this is that I think that the outcome of election will be heavily influenced by the campaign itself.

Campaigns matter… and this time around I believe the truth of this sound political adage will be very evident.

This is part due to the fact that this is will be a winter election. Though voters do like to be canvassed and the old motto that a vote worth getting is worth asking for still holds true voters might not be as inclined to engage with canvassers at their doors, especially during a cold Thursday evening. Continue reading “My thoughts… with about one week until the start of #GE2024 campaign” →

Sinn Féin leader’s speech was brought to you by the word: #Change

by dsmooney, posted in Elections, Mary Lou McDonald, Politics, Sinn Féin
From the Sinn Féin leader’s own Twitter/X feed: LINK

While it may seem odd, even discourteous, to start a critique of last Saturday’s Sinn Féin Árd Fheis address by Mary Lou McDonald with a reference to Sesame Street… well bear with me.

One of the great achievements of that landmark educational programme was how it borrowed methods of television advertising, jingles, and short segments to promote letters and numbers instead of product and sponsors. Each episode ended with the message today’s programme was brought to you by the letter P and the number 5… or whatever.

If last Saturday night’s address had such a message, it would have been just one word: change.

Continue reading “Sinn Féin leader’s speech was brought to you by the word: #Change” →

Next Dáil will have 18 extra TDs… but how many extra will FF or FG win… I doubt it will be many…

by dsmooney, posted in Dáil, Elections, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Leo Varadkar, Micheal Martin, Politics, Sinn Féin
It is likely that the next Dáil will have 178 members

Last Thursday’s Irish Times/Ipsos poll findings left many people wondering why Fine Gael had suffered such a big drop in support (-4%).

The publication of the second half of the poll’s findings, a day later, offered an answer. It showed that voters would much prefer to see more money spent on improving public services and infrastructure than on tax cuts.

Only 13% of 35 – 49-year-olds (which at 19% is Fine Gael’s strongest voting cohort – though only just) want to see the government surplus used for tax cuts compared to 24% who want to see the surplus used to improve public services such as health and education or 39% who want to see it used to build infrastructure such as public transport, housing, hospitals, and schools. The ratios are very similar across other age groups. Continue reading “Next Dáil will have 18 extra TDs… but how many extra will FF or FG win… I doubt it will be many…” →

Fine Gael reckons when they are explaining, you are snoozing

by dsmooney, posted in Fine Gael, GE2020, Leo Varadkar, Paschal Donohoe, Politics, Sinn Féin, Tanaiste, Taoiseach

In my first post of 2023 (apologies for the delay) I look back at the first few weeks of the Donohoe #Postergate saga and explore how Fine Gael has taken the old political dictum: when you are explaining, you are losing, and turned it on its head. Though they may feel it is working in the short-term… I believe that in the longer term, it will not. I do not see Minister Donohoe resigning – even post SIPO investigation – but I think his value (commercial or otherwise) to Fine Gael is now considerably diminished.   

If you are explaining, you are losing.

So ubiquitous is this political truism that its authorship is variously ascribed to such election campaigning greats as Ronald Reagan or Karl Rove.  

The idea underpinning the phrase is appropriately straight forward. If you want to win voters over to your cause you must sound confident and convinced. You do this best by having a message that is clear and concise. Spend too much time explaining your position and you come off looking desperate to convince. Continue reading “Fine Gael reckons when they are explaining, you are snoozing” →

The #Irish Sunday newspaper #frontpages – for Sept 4th, 2022

by dsmooney, posted in Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, frontpages, Politics, Sinn Féin

Fianna Fáil looks defenceless in Government while increasing defence investment

by dsmooney, posted in Cyber security, Defence, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, GE2020, Micheal Martin, Politics, Sinn Féin, Tanaiste, Taoiseach
From Defence Forces Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfmagazine/52213507361/

Earlier this week, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, accompanied by ministers Simon Coveney and Eamon Ryan headed to McKee barracks, beside the Phoenix Park, to launch the overdue and long anticipated government’s action plan response to the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, entitled: “Building for the future – change from within.”

It is a good document. It commits the government to moving the State’s level of defence capability to Level of Ambition 2 (LOA) over a period of six years between now and 2028. In terms of cash and people, this means growing the annual Defence budget to €1.5 billion by 2028 (in 2022 prices) plus expanding the defence establishment by 2,000 personnel (civil and military).

Continue reading “Fianna Fáil looks defenceless in Government while increasing defence investment” →

Here’s an appalling vista – a politics dominated by Sinn Féin and Fine Gael

by dsmooney, posted in Fine Gael, Leo Varadkar, Sinn Féin, Taoiseach

In this week’s opinion piece I look at what I term the appalling vista: the prospect of a decade of Irish politics dominated by Fine gael versus Sinn Féin. We had a worrying glimpse of what it may look and sound like when Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, T.D., and Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty, T.D. clashed during Leaders’ Questions, last week. It was unedifying for all except the most passionate shinner and blueshirt partisans.

An appalling vista. The phrase most infamously comes from Lord Tom Denning’s odious dismissal of the Birmingham Six’s 1980 appeal against their wrongful conviction.

Denning was so firm a fixture of the British establishment that he refused to entertain the possibility that the West Midlands police had lied and framed six innocent Irishmen, declaring that:

…it would mean that the police were guilty of perjury; that they were guilty of violence and threats; that the confessions were involuntary and improperly admitted in evidence; and that the convictions were erroneous… That was such an appalling vista that every sensible person would say, “It cannot be right that these actions [the appeal] should go any further.

And so, Lord Justice Denning compounded the injustice being suffered by the Birmingham Six and dismissed their appeal.

Continue reading “Here’s an appalling vista – a politics dominated by Sinn Féin and Fine Gael” →

NI Assembly result was historic – just not era changing

by dsmooney, posted in Fianna Fáil, Northern Ireland, SDLP, Sinn Féin, Taoiseach, Unity

This column first appeared on May 9th 2022 on Broadsheet and looks at the Northern Ireland assembly election results and how the two governments in Dublin and London have responded. 

AE22 results

For about forty years, from the early 1930s up to the early 1970s, many weighty academic tomes on Karl Marx and on Charles Darwin, attempted to analysis how and why Marx decided to ask the father of the Theory of Evolution if he would accept Marx dedicating one of the volumes of Das Kapital, to him – and why Darwin politely, but firmly, declined the request?

It was a conundrum which intrigued and perplexed many fine scholars from both the left and right. Each side offering complex and multi-layered interpretations about each man’s motivations.

Was Marx just seeking Darwin’s approval – it is certain that Marx admired Darwin’s work – or was he attempting to draw parallels between his and Darwin’s theories and perhaps win the great man over to his arguments? Was Darwin’s refusal driven by a deep wariness of Marx’s politics and the fear of being associated with them.

Continue reading “NI Assembly result was historic – just not era changing” →

Why eat your words when you can delete them?

by dsmooney, posted in Fake News, Fianna Fáil, gerry adams, Mary Lou McDonald, Micheal Martin, Sinn Féin

It is a few weeks since I updated this page to include my most recent blogs. This one first appeared on Broadsheet on March 14th and looks at Sinn Féin’s recent industrial strength spring clean of its online archive of statements 

“Lord, give us the wisdom to utter words that are gentle and tender, for tomorrow we may have to eat them.”

This guidance for politicians comes from the late Mo Udall, a long serving Democratic Congressman from Arizona.

It’s an approach you would hope members of today’s Oireachtas, from all sides, might heed – but as we see during the daily set pieces of Leaders’ Questions and the Order of Business, they don’t.

Instead, rather than acknowledging that they might have been wrong and correcting the situation, they double down and insist that they didn’t say what we think they said. We get obduracy and petulance in place of debate and discussion. In the more extreme cases we get some parties going the whole hog and deleting almost anything and everything they have ever said. Continue reading “Why eat your words when you can delete them?” →