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AS THE GENERAL election nears, candidates have gone on the offence to try and discredit their competitors in the hopes of securing a seat in the Dáil Éireann.
In a live broadcast from the Hodson Bay Hotel in Co Roscommon today, five candidates in the Longford-Westmeath constituency followed suit, with rows erupting between Independent candidate Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, Fianna Fáil’s Robert Troy, and Fine Gael’s Peter Burke.
Also on the programme, Saturday with Colm O Mongáin, were Sinn Féin’s Sorca Clarke, and Independent Ireland’s Paul Hogan. Both Moran and Hogan are councillors for the Athlone-Moate district. Troy, Burke, and Clarke are incumbent TDs.
When asked about immigration and housing issues in the area, Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy said that there needed to be greater engagement between the community and Minister for Integration, Roderic O’Gorman.
Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran interrupted, saying: “Robert, you’re in government. You’re in government.” Moran said that the issue of immigration had come up on the doors during the local elections in June, particularly in relation the proposed centre of asylum seekers in the area.
“You come on today, talking about pausing it. That’s not right. You’re in government. You have to stick to the task. Your system of doing what’s required in relation to immigration is failure – just like housing. You’ve not a grip of what’s going on in the country.”
Troy responded to the comment made, saying, “If I could briefly respond, I’ve had very little time to speak today, so if I could respond to the charge that’s made to me, Minister Moran has been in -”
“I’m not a minister,” Moran corrected.
“Former Minister Moran was in government for four years. He talks about housing. This government built more houses in the five years that we were in than the last two governments combined. Combined,” Troy said.
“You must’ve bought them all, Robert,” Moran replied.
“That’s a low dig, Kevin, and it’s beneath you,” Troy said, before host Colm O Mongáin cut in.
Later on in the programme, when Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke was outlining some of Fine Gael’s commitments in terms of applying means-testing for asylum seekers, as well as accommodation issues, another spat began.
“We don’t want anyone to spend a day in a tent, and that’s what we’re trying to get away from this model to have state infrastructure to house people. We don’t want anyone in a tent,” Burke said.
“You’re at that for four years now,” Moran said.
“Kevin, you seem to be just throwing in shots here. If you let people talk or articulate. What Kevin doesn’t -”
“I’m just like Michael O’Leary,” Moran replied, referencing Burke’s controversial endorsement by the Ryanair boss at a campaign event last week, in which O’Leary made several comments disparaging teachers.
Shooting back, Burke said: “Slogans won’t have substance and won’t deliver solutions. So you’re good at slogans, you’re good at talk, but you’re not good at delivery. I think Athlone knows that quite well.”
At the end of the programme, as ‘Boxer’ Moran decried the lack of available transport in the area, and pointed to the government as being the reason behind inadequate infrastructure, Fianna Fáil’s Robert Troy piped up. “Kevin was with us one time, and he was supporting Fine Gael another time.”
Moran was previously a Fianna Fáil councillor, from 1999 until his shock resignation in 2011.
“Robert, I’m a long time gone from that! Aren’t you Fine Gael!” Moran said.
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The richest country in Europe again depending on charity and volunteers to solve a crisis the people who govern us will ramble back mid January with no vision and same mantra thank god for these wonderful volunteers who have worked free over the Christmas with donations from ordinary decent people to keep these vital services going and doing the work of politians
@Stephen Byrne: any country in Europe who don’t have charities? Charities that exponentially increase their activity during Christmas?
@Stephen Byrne: if it was easy for politicians to spend taxpayers money on every good cause I gather they would
@Stephen Byrne:
More then 24 differant “homeless” charity’s in Dublin alone. Employing over 700 people offering below that number in beds.
Time to clean up the charitie industry.
Then the money donated wll go to the ones who need it.
@Darius Guppy: An excellent example is GoBanyo in Germany, founded by a formerly homeless man, he brought the Duschbus to the streets.
Kitted out with three private bathrooms, one wheelchair accessible, people can look after their personal hygiene.
@Temp Stuff: Instead the fools squander it on bike sheds, bus stops fax machines, travel etc. Don’t mention the hospital. If there was any accountability in this kip, heads would roll and dubious reputations laid to rest.
Jaysus, Glen Hansard would show up at the opening of a phone box
@Niall Boyle: Jaysus, this same comment shows up every year on this same article.
Nearly 15000 people homeless in Ireland now, thanks people for voting Ff and FG back in government, well done.
@Bills n Stuff: And horribly high numbers in the six counties, too.
@Bills n Stuff: you’re welcome
@Bills n Stuff: 15,000 living in FREE ACCOMODATION.
@Bills n Stuff:
Less then a thousand people in the country sleep on the streets. And there is a bed in a hostal for all of them.
Father Mc Ferry? Has stated on radio that when they send out a van to collect someone, by the time they get there someone will have given the person a tent, a sleeping bag, and sandwiches and they are no longer interested in heading back to the hostal.
@Athena: How much did they squander on a Children’s hospital? Nothing.
Little wonder they don’t want anything to do with this 26 pantomime.
Eh you forgot to mention the little known Dermot Kennedy who also showed up to play some tunes!
Government spending money on everything but the homeless and especially on themselves with exorbitant pensions salaries and expenses
@Pauline Cahill:
This is a great chance for the lefty left and Typhoid Mary to pull a good news story by living on the average industrial wage and donating the differance to a homeless charity.
Bunch of chancers will go home to their big homes in the nicer parts of Dublin and preach to the rest of us for the rest of the year.
What happened to the surplus home sweet home money donated.
We were promised the accounts would be made public a number of years ago.
Glen Hansard and age gaps with the women he’s with are very suspect, especially your own from Once. Would rather not have him celebrated still
@Lewis Armstrong: try that again.
@Philip Kennedy: he was being polite. Theres a persistent rumor that Hansard is a creep and dated underage girls in his 30s, allegedly..
Temp stuff a home is an necessity and if previous governments were doing their job 15000 people wouldn’t be homeless of which over 4000 are children how are your kids tonight volunteers work aloside people earning big money
@Stephen Byrne:
Yunkies, drunks and wife beaters are not intitled to taxpayers money. That’s the job of charities.
@H Woo: What a pathetic comment.
The Cranberries dedicated their song Linger to Glen Hansard. He’s akin to that silent flatulence after a spud dinner that just won’t go away.
have your say