Great letter – one question – Micheál Martin is not in Government, so why does his letter bare the State Harp ?

because our current and previous governments suck up to the new world orders puppets!! the shame!!

We should rename our constitution ‘Bunreacht na Stupidity’ given the recent poll results.

Micheal Martin’s refusal to give up his €90,000 pay-off as a former minister in early 2011. Remember?

I find it hard to see Martin’s viability on writing letters who previous ten years have been defined by economic failure. A strong economy helps everyone so how do his supporters excuse his performance.

No don’t remember that at all. I do remember him handing it back and insisting that every other ex Minister who was seeking re-election must do the same. There was a list in the Indo recently highlighting how Martin, Cuiv and similar others had rebated these monies back to the state.

That wasn’t quite the case. The huge expenses and allowances were created by FF. So were the crazy golden handshakes, high salaries, etc.

But then you would say that, being a FFer.

Mmmmmm. Praise from a politician who came within an inch of bringing down his own country. Possibly not something you’d frame and put over the mantelpiece. Maybe a gift for Chelsea? Could serve as a cautionary tale for her- a warning not to succumb to excess?

Yep you would say that.

“The Clinton’s have always been friends of Ireland”

Not because of Fianna Fail, Eoin. They are friends because they have Irish heritage and were one of the few American governments to press Britain on the sovereignty issue in return for long-term peace.

Eoin is a Fianna Fail supporter. Of course he’s in agreement Micheal Martin, LOL.

EOIN – Did the fact that the economic failure began during the years of King Micheal Martin escape you? You have a convenient memory. Try remembering that it took 10 years and a bank bailout to end the last Great Depression.

Pierce
He used Official Leinster House stationary.

He did use Dail stationery

I think he used office of the president FF stationary, but I could be wrong.

Get a grip – it’s was the right thing to do – is it relevant whether he used one sheet of Oireachtas paper, one envelope and heavens forbid an airmail stamp! If you’re going to be that petty you should be ringing Joe Duffy.

I think it is a nice initiative – in fact, I’d hope that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste do the same thing. Would any of the SF trolls who have been onto this already disagree that she and her husband have gone above and beyond the call for this country?

No one doubts that the Clintons have been good friends to Ireland. It is just that Micheal Martin and co. are certainly not friends to Ireland, more a parasitic presence in the body politic. Clinton will never receive this, never even hear about it. It’s just a letter from a nobody who is a leader of a now small party world famous for corruption and incompetence.

I can assure u mr.Troll they are very well received among us republicans :)

Don’t wake the shinerbots Seamus

Come on. Stationery in the Dail is mentioned and no one brings up ink cartridges or Aongus O’Snodaigh?????

I think are are a number of other things Micheal would be better acknowledging first.

They have been friends to Ireland, absolutely agree. BUT, they aren’t friends just because of a politicized media bite.

Also Paul; the next election is three years away.

Don’t assume the polls will always go the way FF want them to. Especially after the Anglo Irish Bank issue which Fianna Fail still have to answer questions.

Martin should get away so that the banks can take us to the cleaners a second time. This country is more polarized since 1997. The next three years is not going to change that; if anything the division will grow. A look of the 2016 election map revels a very stark division of rich regions and poor regions; poor counties and rich counties; and rich distructs and poor districts. If you are rich in a wealthy county your vote does not really count. This is likely a reason for the very low voter turnout – less than 70% of eligible Irish voted in 2011. For a local election the number drops to less than 50%; and a local budget referendum is lucky to get 10%.

I am not sure about what the solution is but it is interesting that we now effectively have mandatory healthcare insurance, but not mandatory voting. FF offer no credible solutions.

He he :-)

Brilliant!

There is nothing to suggest that, unlike other political and retired leaders from Ireland she did not contact him when she was in Ireland recently. The delusions of friendship are on the one side.

Is there anything to suggest that she does not think of him as a corner boy on the make?

Ha – just catching up to this discussion now. I’ve 12,500 tweets and 1,500 followers – and I use my real name – I think this disqualifies me as a “bot” ! Pity Journal don’t eliminate purpose built accounts entirely. Using a Klout score might be one credibilty gauge. PS I caught this one over lunch break – I don’t have the luxury of hanging out on here all day every day am afraid !

Riiiight. So people who don’t use Twitter or Facebook but use their real name shouldn’t be allowed comment.

Interesting perspective. I hope you don’t contribute to policy formation!

An account setup purely to comment on journal with no other online presence looks a little suss to me. Surely such a regular online type would have some other outlets. Maybe you’re the honourable exception. It’s also worth noting that the journals comments policy automatically excludes anyone behind a workplace firewall – due to the requirement to access FB or Twitter to use it – which are banned from most workplaces. I’ve mentioned this to Journal before as it can be frustrating reading articles but unable to comment – a situation I’m sure many find themselves in.

James, I am only finished work now. I can tell you though, I work for a large multi-national and I have no probs logging onto twitter or facebook from work. I too, use my own account to log my comments. I must say, i have had soem clangers of comments logged my way by some of your party members, as well as those from Labour and Fine Gael. As one commenter has already observed, i would love to know if you are trying to influence Journal.ie policy? Do you not think you would be better off asking your own party to consider paying back some of the 500 million euro your party, along with Labour and FG ran up during the Tribunals over the last 10 years. Do you not think, you would be better posting FF’s official line on what reparations they intend to make to the tax payer due to the absolute corruption at the core of FF and the other party’s before coming onto this site to try and influence the likes of Journal.ie posting comments from annonymous accounts? Trust me, i have many many comments made at me from annonymous posters, its not nice, but guess what, comments on a news website are not mandatory reading. If you can’t handle them, dont read them. I hope you will respond on the comment i made from MY actual twitter account in relation to the Tribunals monies, and the fact that you guys kept bumping up Taoiseach and minister salaries and compensation packages, which are the highest in the world. Just asking.

Straight forward question cal. Wonder what response you will get? Lets hope it’s honest and original.

Cal, the company I work for doesn’t allow FB or Twitter from work. You can go on from your handheld in your own time but its a little more cumbersome, also more time intensive and not something you can do often during the day. If the company you work for has a more open social media policy then good for you. Many other corporates don’t. I gather it’s becoming the norm for corporates to block social media from the workplace network. In regard to your other points I have asked many things of my party in the past, some of which touch on issues you have raised. I’m not going to enter into a protracted debate on them with you here though – these types of discussions consume a lot of negative energy from all parties involved and rarely end well. Suffice to say you raise some valid concerns which I am aware of and have raised in the past. As for influencing the Journal’s comments policy I think the site would garner a wider comments catchment pool and quality interaction if they allowed an OpenId or guest style login rather than exclusively FB/Twitter as is currently the case and I’ve suggested this to the editorial team here before.

“Very good, no doubt they became good friends over the course of their tenures as Minister for Foreign Affairs”

What makes you think they are “good friends”? In late 2010, the US treasury secretary (a Democrat) personally went against Fianna Fail after their bank guarantee skyrocketed the national debt. That relationship you mention wasn’t as cosy as you claim.

James, thanks for the prompt response, and i know i am being pendantic, but you didn’t answer any of my points. I asked direct questions, and you have not given me feedback in response. You said i raised some valid points and you raised the valid points to your party.
What was the response from your party? Have they made any suggestion about repaying some of the 500 million euro? have they made any sort of suggestion that they would support reducing pensions for past Taoisigh down to the EU norms (approx 50% reduction from their current levels). I ask straight questions and i ask for straight answers. Also, i want to know, what are the red-line issues for you personally, in order for me to understand whether or not, you have the best interests of the people at heart. Would you support forcing the likes of Miceal Martin to stand up and explain his role in supporting Bertie Ahearne during his leadership, even though he made comments like ‘people bnegative on the economy should go commit suicide’, given that we have had a 5x increase in suicides in Ireland over the last 5 years (primarily down to the economic situation), or that Miceal Martin supported Bertie Ahearne all the way through a blatant effort at hiding his corruption on National TV. It made us an embarassment to the world.
How do you feel about inviting Willie O’Dea, Miceal Martin, Eamonn O’Cuiv back into the fold, after they supported selling Ireland Inc out from under the feet of the Irish people. 80,000 people per year are leaving our shores, because of your party’s policy (and continued by FG/Labour … hence i always refer to FG as FFG).
These are straight questions, and if you give me straight answers, i will respect you, otherwise, i will file you away with other former and current Government members who will deflect honest direct questions away, with true and tried spin and innuendo, while not answering the questions that were asked.

Great comment, Cal. Keep it up, but please, *paragraphs”

It’s hard to read when it’s in one big lump!

Thanks Petr, I take the feedback :) I do need to improve my presentation skills. When i start to write my feedback, i post without reading it (honestly its from the heart always). I should send it to myself first on mail, then spell check, grammar check and paragraph as you suggest…

You are 100% right and i would get my point across more succinctly, if i took your advise. Most people don’t to read a large body of text that has no structure :)

haa haa …’Advice’, not ‘advise’

FF called for the Mahon tribunal to be sent to the to the DPP and the investigation into those individuals is on going as far as I’m aware. But Cal, if you think political parties should be financially responsible for the actions of those who represent it, I’ll assume your party, Sinn Féin will lead the way and start the “reparations” (as you called them) for the billions that SF and their sister organisation the IRA cost us in absolute terms and indirectly in FDI due to their protracted campaign of terror, targeting Irish citizen and businesses as well as agents of the state itself? Individuals named were responsible for any corruption and they themselves should face trial and conviction in order to repay their debt to society.

As for the bank guarantee, I have no idea what exactly happened that night, who was involved or what influence the ECB had but what I do konw for a fact is that SF voted for it first of all and then, once it realized that it would pass anyway without their support, cynically voted against it at second stage so that they could speak out of both sides of their mouth depending on the outcome. Interest of party over state much?!

You mentioned leadership. Ahern conned the majority of country with his tales. People close to him and those in his cabinet would have found it hard to believe that he would have abused their trust in him too. I assume it’s the same for the SF bright young turks defending their leadership now in the face of serious accusations.

No one was accusing you Cal of being a troll, however Petr and Mark Dalt (possibly the same person) most definitely are fake accounts which are exclusively used to post anti-FF comments here on thejournal. David_Graystone is another one which engages in this practise.

Eoin,
I am not a SF member…. i wrote comments on the column piece yesterday that were derogatory of SF. But your comment is a typical response in response to honest hard questions. By the way, challenged one of your fellow oparty members only 2 weeks ago, who suggested that i had dual identities (or in this case, triple identities, and they had to come back and apoligize publicly on Journal.ie, after i proved who i was to them off-line, and i made clear that i would go to the authorities over the seriousness of their allegation (they suggested that i had made some sort of threats under a pseudonym against one of your party colleagues).
You are exactly the same as FFG… the two parties deflect questions you dont like, by making suggestions that anyone who questions your past/moral compass must be a member of SF. What is wrong with you people. Can you not acknoweldge the harm you are doing?

Here is a link to the article in question, along with a FF member first making suggestions and then retracting everything.
http://www.thejournal.ie/report-on-magdalen-laundries-to-be-published-soon-747269-Jan2013/

If you guys cannot answer straight questions, you have zero right to make dirty false accusations on this site.

Here is the link to yesterday comment, where i derided SF
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/13c5d7601fc6fdef

See the comment that i said that SF are as guilty of playing the troubles card as your party.

Now, an apology would be great, but as we have seen time and time again, FF apologies mean nothing… remeber Bertie saying never again to allowing corrupt people taking over leadership of FF after Haugheys raid on the tax-payer bank account.

Yes Eoin, “FF called for the Mahon tribunal to be sent to the to the DPP and the investigation into those individuals is on going as far as I’m aware”. Did you guys for the same after Moriarty. you guys set up these tribunals… 500 million euros later … what? They reported and what? Your party, along with FFG and labour were found to be guilty. Will you oplease return the money to us? Or do you think you have a God given right to refuse to pay the 500 million euro? I see your constant supporters liker Pierce 2020 keep going on abut the SF TDs over-zealous use of ink-toner. It equates to 2000 years, yes 2 thousand years (every single year) of over zealous use of ink toner to match your tribunal history. I said yesterday and i say again, SF should consider returning the 30,00 over two years versus the norm per TD, on ink toner use. Please please respond to me on the points i have made.

Cal you’ve been here for an age, first as Cal Mooney and then with the 1 inserted after you got banned if I recall for some “choice comments” you made and then tried to claim you were hacked. In all that time however you have been a champion of SF policies, SF related articles and have stated several times your intention to vote SF at the next election. You’re on this same Parnell Square strategy of pretending to be some independent concerned citizen that has been “won over” by SF, or going to vote SF “after long thought as the best alternative”. Spare me! Your second link goes nowhere by the way. And even if it did, that proves nothing. I’ve been quite publicly critical of some FF representatives (recently with Sean McEniff) past and present as well as certain policy positions I don’t personally agree with. People who agree 100% with their political party are either deluded or brainwashed, I am neither. (Despite some of the smart ass comments people may like to make).

Eoin Ó Nialláin:

If you were forced to emigrate, I find it strange how you are a die-hard Fianna Fail supporter. Btw, Clare retailers recently lambasted Fianna Fail policies which decimated local trade.

Eoin: “Petr and Mark Dalt (possibly the same person) most definitely are fake accounts which are exclusively used to post anti-FF comments here on thejournal. ”

In that case, why do a comment on a whole range of topics here? Y’know, if I’m a ‘fake’ with the sole purpose of posting anti-FF stuff?

You don’t get it do you? Nobody makes it their business to post anti-FF stuff; it’s just that many of us will never forget what you did to our country. We’re still angry.

By the way, I post under my real name. I deactivated Facebook two years ago and don’t really like Twitter as a platform. Doesn’t make me a fake.

Moriarty concerned the FG/Labour government misappropriation of a mobile phone licence and is current to subject of a court case. It does not involve FF and as it is an on going case and therefore I shall not comment on it any more and would advise others to do the same until the case is over. I might ad that, give the period that Mahon concerned, there were no elected members of the council from SF. I wonder if there were how many may have been involved. None I’d hope…….but that’s all hypothetical of course.

No political parties (consisting of thousands of members) should not be liable for the actions of a small number of members, no matter how prominent they have been. If that were the case, SF should be wound up for the massive scale of damage they have caused this island.

I answered all your questions regarding support for Ahern, bank guarantees, etc. Just because you don’t like the answers, there’s n need to go off in a huff!

Mark/Petr,

If the retailer came out against SF I’m sure that would make the local news, yet no mention of it on ClareFM, The Clare People or the Champion as of yet?!?! I do recall them welcoming the FF led council’s decision to freeze rates despite central government cutting council funding.

Eoin:
————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Clare retailers recently lambasted Fianna Fail’s legacy of upward-only rents, higher tax rates [to pay for Anglo Irish Bank and its bondholders, the ~€2,800 a WEEK of a pension to Bertie which would take 1456 households to pay for].

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin’s refusal to give up his €90,000 pay-off as a former minister in early 2011.

Mark/Petr
————————————-
Source?

Eoin, i posted on a DDI column yesterday that i would support them or a party linked to them…
It was a column you probably didn’t read, because you dont perceive DDI as a threat to you yet. Damn, you guys have zero moral compass, throwing accusations out like there is no tomorrow, if you think it will help defect attention away from FF corruption, duplicity and incompetence. No offense, did you even read the link i posted in relation to a FF member making accusations at me, that if i had gone to the Garday, it would have been national press.

Instead of the personal attacks on me, and general diatribe you put out, accusing every who is anti-FF of being a looney-bin, a terrorist, a moran, a blue-shirt, a union rep…. why dont you look hard into your own party and its membership (past and present) and try to figure out what is wrong with your paty. You guys are no longer the party of destiny and cannot ride over the carcasses of every one else on your way to the Galway Tent. You havent once answered my question about repaying the 500 million euro that your party along with FFG and Labour owe this country for two tribunals that produced nothing but time and cover for all your corruption.

I did answer your absurd €500mn question above Cal, try actually reading it. The few corrupt people should face the consequences of their actions. Same as those members of all parties that are involved in any criminality. Group punishment for the crime of the extreme minority makes absolutely no sense.

And I did read the other thread you posted. Saw no accusation (as it was most likely taken down in the retraction) but I did see the gracious retraction and apology given due to mistaken identity. National scandal though??? Seriously? Are you mad! A Sinn Féin member was convicted of assult on a Fianna Fáil member in Wicklow and I can’t even find a link to the story on Google but you think a few words on an internet forum would be a national scandal. You couldn’t make it up! Right lads, I’ve got an early start and have wasted enough of my time on ye.

Oh and fyi, there hasn’t been a (perpetually full of journalists filled) Galway Tent for 6 years now.

You Shinners really need to get a room.

No thanks we have enough corrupt politicians as it is.

All letters addressed to the US administration have to go through a goshite scanner so I doubt it reached her.

Or mainly FF bagmen engaging in organised comment flooding.

FF have hired a person to trawl through the Internet and heap praise upon them. Bunch of losers!
To think they ‘supposedly’ are the second most popular party in Ireland!
God help us if these vultures come to power again here.

Are we a little bit paranoid, are we, just a little…………..

None of these four goons commented on any other post this morning. You think the four of them arrived here coincidentally? Not saying there’s anything wrong with it, just pointing it out. Two of them posted almost identical comments.

The pro-Israelis and anti-choicers do the same. I guess when you are reviled by the majority you gotta try something.

Spot on Petr

At least someone knows how internet PR works.

15 people have commented so far, 5 of those are FF members!

LOL

Are you sure Petr, names please

Seán O’ Dulaing, James Lawless, Olibhéar Ó Góillin, Paul Anthony Ward, Eoin Ó Nialláin.

The anti-Israel and anti-choice crowd to it all the time. Why is it so far fetched to think that you lot would do it too?

Why do you think I’m not posting under my real name?

*pro-Israel rather.

They have been really pushing a co-ordinated social strategy for the last 6 months. Not that is seems to get much traction.

For one, you’re using a twitter account that has 1 follower and, given your frequency on posting here, would seem to be used exclusively for commenting on thejournal articles!

And by ” it all the time”, are you insinuating that the sum total of 5 comments (given the level of hits thejournal receives daily) is somehow a concerted effort by the party or any grouping with in the party to comment here on masse??? That’s very naive to say the least!

You are entitled to your opinion Petr, but it’s depressing to see your sort of cynicism. Micheál Martin wrote a letter to an international friend of Ireland, thanking her for her work and wishing her well for the future.

Is your agenda so narrow, so cynical, so anti-FF that you can’t just see it for what it is????

Howdy Seamus, AKA FF member number 6 on this thread.

Petr, I didn’t know Fianna Fáil paid me for all the hours I spend commenting on this site! Wonder what account they pay into, I must have a nice tidy sum hoarded away…

PS: Sarcasm.

Who said anything about being paid? You’re arguing against a point that nobody made.

Nice performance on the Frontline by the way:

“Ehhh, er, ehhh, the, emm, ehhhh…”

Very articulate!

Ad hominem muchly x 2?

Says the man who accuses me of being some kind of fraud.

@Petr- if only they’d had an early warning system when it came to the public finances….

Indeed Vincent. If only they had some sense of shame about all they’ve done. I don’t detect an ounce of it.

Look at the thousands and thousands of Euro’s that FF members in Limerick received from the tax payer for leafleting for FF in Limerick. It was public money so I guess FF’ers view it as their entitlement. One FF cllr handed out 2000 leaflets and received 13000 in return for it.

http://www.politics.ie/forum/munster/106959-cllr-cathal-crowe-bills-us-e13000.html

People have to remember that attitudes and acts that are considered underhand, unacceptable or down right criminal are viewed differently by a very large section of the FF membership. My advice is to avoid them.

There was a young lad recently on the Frontline who said that FF had destroyed the economy and indebted his generation and that he was doing something about it….. by joining Ogra FF!!!

It was like a bad Irish joke!

Petr, you do know that I have a stammer (a non-curable neurological disorder)? You’re welcome to try talking on national TV with that little beauty any day.

Fiachra — Apologies. Didn’t know, and it was a tasteless comment in any case.

Maybe the Fianna Failers are planning to use Clinton in their next election campaign. In their 2007 campaign, they used various soundbites from Clinton and a couple of others. To Fianna Fail, it’s basically their “nice guy” antic of getting as many votes as they can.

She probably put it in the nearest recycling bin. That’s basically it.

When was the last time you actually picked up a Newspaper? Probably not in the last 5 years! lol.

Short memories.

I’m sure you meant Taoiseach, there.

Fiachra,

Micheál Martin didn’t come across as charismatic. I know you are a Fianna Failer, but the devastation FF policies did to Ireland (Anglo Irish Bank) should be the centerpiece of discussion whenever Martin opens his mouth: he still has questions to answer.

I agree with you – right up to when you wished Mícheál Martin back into office!!

Who can forget Micheal Martin’s passionate defending of Ahern during the tribunal and his actions as a Minister. Like many people in Ireland I do not consider Martin fit for the lowest public office in the country, so I can hardly hope to see him have actually power again.

Lawless is a great name for a FF supporter if you don’t mind me saying.

Vincent comment of the week. “Lawless” FF

Ad hominem muchly?

No, no. Attacking the party you chose, not the name you inherited.

Where is your argument is the first place?

By the way you show your disdain for the people using latin as a retort. It shows yourself proclaiming to be higher in intellect that those that wish to interact in dialogue with you.

That is Fianna Fáil in a nutshell; they do not speak the language of the ordinary person who has no money, bad health and struggling to make ends meet.

Latin was once the language of the upper class and the church so famed for covering up abuse of children. Britains greatest spy DeValera was their protector; the church that is.

“Lets hope we see them both back in high public office in future”

Mr Lawless: Not gonna happen. FF supporters jumping at the latest poll. But we aren’t half way to the next election. There are three more years yet.

FF’s legacy will become apparent once Water charges and property tax kick in to prop-up the Anglo Irish Bank. 32 per cent of GDP from the Anglo Irish Bank legacy. Courtesy of the Fianna Failers.

You have to admit it is funny James. It is like a FG member being called Jimmy Bigfarmer.

The big threat to FF for the next election is that court cases and investigations form the Celtic Tiger period may be in full swing. Can a party re-org. if a large section of its membership and leading names are helping the Guards with their inquiries. FF are going to be dealing with criminal investigations for the next 20 years.

As for the next generation, they are the Ahern generation of FF. It is hard to expect much and from what I hear of people that know some of them they are worse than what has gone before.

Seriously. I learned a smidgen of Latin in the Christian Brothers. Ad Hominem is hardly an obscure phrase online.

From being called gombeens to being called elitist (or whatever else that last comment was implying) is it any wonder we are sometimes reticent in entering these debates?

Says the man who told me recently I didn’t tweet enough and in the same thread where it’s been suggested am not a regular commenter (for reasons which I’ve already mentioned btw)

James, any chance you could respond to my comments in relation to your posts above ….
I know they are badly broken out, but i would have 10 times more respect for you for answering directly, without spin, the questions i asked than responding to comments abut whether Latin is relevant or not.
As i suggested above, it well and good for someone to openly declare they are representing a Political party to come on this site, chastising the site for allowing people with hidden names, make derogatory comments against the party you represent, when you deliberately and decisively ignore real people who ask direct honest questions. ie you ignore the real people.
Hidden accounts mean more to you and other political party members than real people and real questions? Hypocrisy or what? By the way, you posted you r last comment 9 minutes ago, i posed my real questions 45 minutes ago … shows where you and your party’s priority ly (lie).

Didn’t tweet enough about real issues affecting the Kildare public before and after GE11 James, merely ritual self -back slapping . eg. here is a photo of me delivering a talk to a room , here is snippet of a course I’m studying or look how I balance my hectic schedule so well. Publicly sucking up to the party leader is just too much. Kildare needs strong representation and no party is offering that here. NONE.

Cal, read my original response to you again. I said you make some valid concerns, (some of which I’ve expressed myself in the past), but I’m not getting into a protracted debate with you about them. Did you miss that statement in my reply? Reason why, it takes a lot of time, a lot of negative energy, it tends to be a circular discussion. I’ve been down this road before. I’ll answer your questions, you will ask some more questions, my answers won’t entirely satisfy and the whole thing will repeat ad infinitum (darn, there’s that Latin thing again, just slipped out). Bertie’s comment on suicide was appalling by the way, as I said at the time. For a man that had so much experience in front of a microphone (and you would therefore expect should no better) it’s amazing some of the things he came out with it.

Gearoid I wasn’t a candidate in GE11. Am sure would have had plenty to say if I was. You appear to be taking issue with some of my FB/Twitter feed. As you’ve acknowledged in your comments it’s at least as much personal as political. I have a life outside this stuff. If you don’t like it there’s always the unfollow button?

Fair enough :-)

I didn’t mean to imply you were a candidate , I meant to highlight that someone who is on The FF committee of 20 and will probably run in GE16 should differentiate between their political and personal feeds. While refraining from self-promotion and pandering to those in a higher position .

James, is there a single red-line item for you that would prevent you from supporting FF? Even one? please print it for the world to see. You cant answer a single question i asked, and i asked the questions multiple times. Your response, sums up what is wrong at the heat of your party, you do not want to get drawn into a debate on the answers. That is your right and the right of your party. How about we all tajke that attitude about every hard question in our society… Yeah, i dont think that washes James. ‘Sorry, I am not convinced, I am out’, as one of your supporters always to say.

@james- I would suggest that the fact that your party bankrupted this country and surrendered our hard earned sovereignty is why you are a little “reticent” in engaging. Much like so many of the outgoing FF ministers at the last election, it’s better to keep out of the fight while memories are fresh.

Who cares . Wikileaks has shown us the contempt this woman holds against other governments . She couldnt care less what he says .

Politeness??? A indirect form of crony capitalism? I thought we learned from that mistake…

We have no ‘largest opposition party’, just a pretender. Historians will refer to the years 1997-2011 as the Years Without a Taoiseach

If your goal is to bolster Fianna Fail, you started off terrible. Like the other FF supporters here; you haven’t been able to address any of the previous points I put to them.

To reiterate: Why did the Democrats veto Fianna Fail’s request after FF’s bank guarantee skyrocketed the national debt. That “mutual respect” you mention wasn’t so cosy.