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YOU COULD BE forgiven for coming away from last night’s leaders debate on RTÉ feeling more conflicted than committed to any party, or party leader.
A ten-person debate is difficult to manage in any given circumstance, but as 29 November draws closer, tensions are high between parties as they take every chance given to them to set out their respective stalls.
So, who should you actually vote for? Many people may already have their hearts set on a certain party, or an Independent candidate, or a local politician who has done good for the area. Others, particularly first time voters, may find it slightly more difficult to wade through the buzz of the canvass and the debates and promises written in manifestos.
WhichCandidate, an initiative that helps voters find a politician running in their constituency that identifies best with their own beliefs, is now in its tenth year.
Founded by the University of Limerick’s Dr Rory Costello and John Costello in 2014, the website holds the motto: “Bringing policy into voting decisions”.
Explaining how it works, Dr Rory Costello said: “WhichCandidate is an easy way to compare candidates in your constituency and find out who you agree with and disagree with on a wide range of policy issues.
“All you have to do is to give your opinion on a set of around 30 questions, and you will receive a personalised set of results showing your level of agreement with each of the candidates. The answers you give are completely anonymous. It is a shortcut to becoming a more informed voter that takes less than ten minutes.”
He said that the initiative was designed around the Irish electoral system, where voters have to rank candidates in order of preference.
“This is a complex task, and even people who have made up their mind about their top preference may not have given much thought to their subsequent preferences,” he added. “Your personalised results on WhichCandidate will make this task much easier. You can even fill out a mock ballot paper on the site, to make sure you are ready to vote.”
All of the information on the site comes directly from candidates or their political party, he said. He encouraged candidates who are not yet on the site to sign up and share their views.
For more information on candidates running in your constituency, you can visit The Journal‘s Candidate Database, which contains all candidates who have registered to appear on the ballot.
The Journal has also asked all candidates three questions about their plans if elected, the answers of which are available on the candidate’s page.
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Stay Free, No Vote For McEntee.
@087 bed: I agree entirely mate, we McEntees are a strange bunch. Vote no to the far left!
@087 bed: FG are the only option :)
Not one word about International Men’s Day.
@Eric Gaffney: I suppose some sexes are more equal than others.
@Eric Gaffney: oh, here ya go….HAPPY INTERNATIONAL MENS DAY!!!
@Eric Gaffney: What are you doing to celebrate?
@Frank Mc Carthy: Thanks Frank. That’s very nice.
@david mcentee: Lots of detail there David. David?
@Louis Jacob: You got me, I’m the man!
@david mcentee: “One in 10, apparently. That seems a bit high. You might be. If you are, good luck to you. Just make sure it’s legal and be safe”… DB
@Brendan O’Brien: Well I’m getting the Ouija board out Brennie.
@Brendan O’Brien: Having a wank.
@Brendan O’Brien: What do women do?.
It’s funny to watch you Irish liberals, you fought for centuries and now………
@Eric Gaffney: You are a strange man. Get some help.
@Ger Whelan: the dishes lol
@Eric Gaffney: As a man, I couldn’t care less about International Men’s Day or any other day dedicated to some namby pamby bs cause
If voting made a difference they wouldn’t let you do it.
Mark Twain.
@Brendan O’Brien:
The last resort of the desperate, quoting the ‘factcheckers’, those guardians of the status quo!
@Jonn: I thought you guys love facts. It seems in reality you only like facts that don’t trigger you.
@Jonn: Facts are the last resort of the desperate? Trump and Putin have really got to you.
@Brendan O’Brien:
Here’s a fact even your beloved ‘factcheckers’ couldn’t dispute..Trump won by a comfortable margin despite years of open hostility by the corporate media and the bureaucratic establishment, and Putin has survived in power for so long because a clear majority of Russians admire and support him! Say I’m wrong!
@Jonn: ‘Trump and Putin are truly the masters of the universe’ (Mark Twain).
@Jonn: Now you’re fact checking. Trump? True, except that the corporate media love Trump. Fox are the biggest corporate media channel by a distance.
Putin? Half true. He also murders his opponents.
@Brendan O’Brien: That feels good. John will love it.
@Brendan O’Brien: “All we are saying, is give Trump a chance” John Lennon.
@Louis Jacob: Let’s not forget Irving Berlin’s ‘Putin on the Ritz’.
@Brendan O’Brien: well, you can pit one side against the other all you like , but ‘Hegel don’t bother me’
@Jonn: who’s checking the fact checkers?
@Jonn: very true indeed, up there with the indisputable journal debunked articles, because they won’t let you.
@Brendan O’Brien: you should beware of the fake fact checkers.
Here’s a good tip..ask yourself is this candidate going to fight for the best interests of you and your family,or are they just going to be another soulless middle-manager carrying out the agenda of the EU, UN or WEF! A helpful hint..if they’re a member of the current regime then it’s the latter!
@Jonn: happily making a career out of failure.
I noticed the energy credit was applied to my November electricity bill today. The government clearly want me to feel warm and fuzzy about them this month. That’s cynical.
@Numinous20111: Where did that money come from?
@Numinous20111: of course, and the same reason boi issued an interest rate cut.
Hutch No 1 lol
@Quinny: Jesus! I would nearly give him my vote. I know he is a convicted criminal but aren’t there white collar individuals in the Dáil who should be convicted.
@Dave Barrett: Strange logic there
@Mick Duvanny: not really. Actually a very good point.
Look, to be honest it doesn’t really matter who you vote for. The three main parties of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn will be in power no matter what and all of those parties will pursue a solidly left-wing economic, social and foreign policy. There is clear staleness in Irish politics now. Many people, including myself, are hungry for a new party that is authentically free-market and is against politically correct moral posturing. One which has an ambitious policy of cutting taxes, shrinking the size of the government, abolishing the HSE, enforcing immigration laws that are on the books and ending foolhardy wacky environmental policies like “Net Zero” and the carbon tax. I didn’t even vote in the last election because the sheer lack of candidates that represented my views.
Vote monk
@Tired Jim: Tired jim is just one account from this multi account troll . Read any of the Paul m doe (william slevin / fintan pox / john doe / john m doe / john p doe /ulysses / exhausted jim / tired jim / john jon / lefty tears / lefty cries and dozens more troll accounts ) and you will see the quality of his comments, he has never added anything constructive or of any merit to any conversation on this platform. He has been banned on many occasions for good reason.
On one hand , it is pitiful to think how someone’s life choices have led them to be this desperate for attention , while on the other hand it is easy to see that he is so pathetic that nobody will interact with him in the real world.
@tom o reilly: you really need to get a life lol
Bottom line: it doesn’t matter who you vote for, they’re all out to screw you over. It’s like picking which end of a carrot you want to eat out from a pail of vomit.
Why did you fight the British but you bend for the Somalians????
@david mcentee:
Anyone but the Dail Uni-party of SF,FG,FF,PB4P, SD,Labour,Irish Independent Party,AND THE GREENS. IF You want change, vote for Aontu, Irish Freedom Party (Irexit), or the National Alliance. Otherwise, it’s pointless to have an election.
It’s disgusting that you are giving your country away
Make me ashamed of my irish ancestry
Vote for those who will deliver the Fair Dems Manifesto:
Principle-based, Fair and Democratic
have your say