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LAST UPDATE | 17 Oct 2024
TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS has said it is his prerogative to consider when an election is in “the best interest for Ireland”.
Harris had previously said the Government should “go full term” before an election is called, however election speculation has been rife in political circles, with the majority predicting an election before Christmas.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, the Taoiseach said he wanted Government to “finish the work that is underway”.
He said he will make the decision when the the next election will be “in a considered way”.
“When is the right time for Ireland to have a general election? When is the right time for me to ask the people of Ireland to renew my mandate? he said.
The Social Welfare and Gambling bills, as well as hate crime legislation, passed all stages last night, further adding the to speculation that an early election is coming.
In addition, a planned trade mission to Poland, which the Taoiseach was to lead, has been cancelled.
While the trip has been postponed with sources downplaying the cancellation of the trip, it also points to the calendar being cleared for a possible election.
Harris has said he will consult the coalition leaders in advance of any announcement.
“I’ve been Taoiseach of this country for just over six months, I very much look forward to putting my case to the people and asking the people to give me an opportunity to have a mandate to be Taoiseach for the time ahead.
“I will want this Government to end well, because this Government works well. We have had more than four-and-a-half years now, we have delivered five budgets, and I will discuss in due course with my colleagues when I believe the right time is.”
He added: “I want to see when is the right time, when the work that is underway is completed, when is there a proper space to have an election, and when is that time best for Ireland.”
On Wednesday, Tánaiste Micheal Martin spoke about specific timings when an election might be possible , but he said the Finance Bill needs to be passed to give effect to the budget.
Speaking to the Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, Martin said his view remained that the Government has “work to complete”.
He said:
“To a large extent there are two dates for this election – one is end of November, beginning of December, or February. The gap between November and February isn’t huge.”
“The Finance Bill will be the key piece of legislation and that scheduling is in for the first week of November for committee stage,” he said. There is no indication in next week’s Dáil schedule that the bill is being fast-tracked.
“If it’s the desire of some and others to do things earlier, we’d need to game that and people would need to work through the timelines around critical pieces of legislation,” Martin said yesterday.
The Dáil is due to rise on 24 October and not return until 5 November, with a bank holiday on the 28 October.
The dates being talked about by those in Leinster House for a possible election include 22 November, 29 November or 6 December. Again, all this is mere speculation.
Legally, an election has to be held before March 2025 when the current Government will reach its five year limit, but many have suspected that as soon as the Budget was out of the way it would be game on.
Speaking in Washington DC last week, Harris told reporters passing essential budget legislation – like the Social Welfare and Finance Bills – was one of his priorities in addition to setting the new Government housing targets, and “significantly” progressing mental health and defamation legislation.
The mental health and defamation bills have not yet been passed.
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Apple are an awful shower of bastards altogether.
Sent from my iPhone.
Comment of the week!
About time, absolutely astonishing & disgraceful this company can only offer a 12 month warranty on its phones with base models costing €550. Most if not all other manufacturers offer 24 month warranties.
Name one
O let me see, I’ll spoil you, Samsung, HTC, Sony, Nokia, even the humble alcatel & hawuai to name but a few, is this enough for you?
Samsung 2 year warranty on a range of tablets
Apple really think they can do and say what they want… Though honestly anybody who listened to the crap they were spoofing them really must have had no clue, alot of them are apple zombies anyway who will do what they’re told. Know your rights when you buy something… You can return any purchase within a certain period after committing to buy something regardless of what any company tell you for a refund.. And to say they won’t cover any manufacturer fault in first 12 months is a joke… Make the biggest scene you can in the store and refuse to leave anywhere till it’s sorted… They’ll accept it then…!
My Sony xperia has a 24 month warranty.
Had am issue with an acer laptop when the hard drive went 6 weeks after purchase. All pc world would offer was a repair
And make do without the laptop.
Eh no you can’t stop misinforming people….
In law you are only entitled to your money back if you have purchased a faulty product(the most common one) or else if you can prove you have been misled during the sale or the product is not fit for purpose.
If you just change your mind as a consumer the retailer can technically tell you to go suck a lemon it’s your problem you changed your mind about the item.However most company’s will have an exchange (not refund)policy to be consumer friendly within a certain time period and some also may give money back on purchases in certain situations (or the whole time within a certain time period if that is the company policy)but they are not legally obliged to do so…
Apple has a 2 year warranty too – in Europe. They have to under European law.
That’s right, Emily. Nobody should allow themselves to be convinced that they are only covered by a 12 month warranty. European law makes 24 months the minimum.
Samsung warranties are a joke. They will tell you your phone has moisture damage and the warranty doesn’t apply. Google water damage Samsung.
Actually the European Consumer law is a little more hazy than you think. It doesn’t state you have a 2 year warranty, it says you have 2 years to make a claim. And Apple on their own site state that in most European jurisdictions the onus is on the consumer to prove there was a fault when the product was delivered. Either way, Apple are clearly a law unto themselves in their eyes. And either have little faith in their products lasting more than a year or are just the ultimate example of corporate greed. The latter me thinks….
By law you’re not entitled to a refund unless it’s faulty!
samsung 24 months send you a free jiffy bag to send the phone back to them to repair.and if like myself they cant repair it they replaced it with a newer model
By law the retailer can either refund, replace or repair an item which was not fit (faulty) for purpose. Not obliged to refund only. The choice lies with the retailer. You are correct about when customer just changes mind. No obligation whatsoever on the retailer to take it back.
Samsung
LG
Toshiba
Sony
er
Panasonic
Do I win?
Nokia
Funny you should say Samsung, their S4 is apparently waterproof but the bloody warranty doesn’t cover water damage.
Not sure were u got that info re waterproof, the S4 is certainly not and was never advertised as being so. The Z1 does claim some protection against water damage but all manufacturers will void a warranty if there is liquid or water damage.
The s4 is not waterproof. There is however a waterproof model called the s4 active.
The z1 does more than just claim some protection against water. It’s fully water proof. I have taken underwater videos and pics with it.
I bought a laptop from click.ie, nothing but trouble. All they are offering me was repairs. Found out later they are operating even though they are in liquidation.
Great isn’t it! Mine got a bit dusty at work and I just took it in the shower with me
Apple tried that crap on me over a charger, the folded when I asserted my rights. They put that as a ‘gesture’ they were replacing the faulty unit after 12 months when in fact they are legally obliged. Feel sorry for people who take their word and pay for repairs and replacements they are legally entitled to.
Thought this might be of interest http://www.apple.com/legal/additional_legal_rights.html. It’s post on the apple store website, the same rights extend to products from other manufacturers. People are seemingly obsessed with bitching about Apple, many issues with other companies, remember when Microsoft were the big evil monster corporation?
Much like many fanboys are obsessed with defending them. All in the same boat.
I remember very well when Microsoft were the bad guys. Apple was then the fair crowd and people would say how Apple would never be like Microsoft.
Time has shown us Apple are much much worse. The ideals the once stood for is gone completely. Mind you anybody who thought they wouldn’t do this were just being stupid.
Android battery life sucks balls. That is all.
I agree completely.
With Karl
Kal, good lord, being in the swamp with samsung and android fan boys has actually lowered my intelligence,
My galaxy note 3 has a 3200mAh battery and I can squeeze 2 days out it even with plenty of use, iphone I was lucky to get 2 hours.
The Galaxy Note is more a tablet than a phone. You should carry around an iPad if you like bigger screens. Excellent battery life. 2 hours from your iphone? – total BS. You wish you had an iphone more like.
I have a toshiba laptop 1 year later the fan went. They booked an Irish contractor who sent a courier to collect it, fixed in 5 days and returned no hassle.
How do ye think Apple would fare here? Is Irish consumer law strong enough? I doubt it, but….
Read the article before making stupid comments.
Wasn’t it only last year that in Europe Apple were forced to put an explainer on their websites homepage and they didn’t make it prominent enough and so were forced to make it bigger
As far as I am aware it is the customers reasonable expectation of the product that dictates the guarantee, you buy a cheap item and it is ok to expect it to last a 12 months, you pay a lot for an item and it is your expectation of the product. I use this argument all the time if goods fail, never let me down yet. I have has to threaten small claims court but no problems so far.
A lot of misunderstanding there, it’s actually quicker to deal directly with Apple, quicker and a more efficient service for repairs and service. People tend to be just afraid to make a phone call.
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