I have to agree. Most of us know that the FG/Labour alternative would have been as much or more in bed with the unions (maybe this lot are not so much in bed but rather bent over with their pants around their ankles).I think the reason they are still the oppostion is that whenever a crisis appears they play the blame game and never offer an alternative like last night Jan O'Sullivan was lapping it up having a go at Mary coughlan ober Dell and when Miriam O'Callaghan said 'what would you have done Jan O'Sullivan' her reply was ' I wouldn't have let it come to this' she didn't say how, she didn't say well the damage is done and this is how we can get out of it. The oppostion are not offering solutions or the rays of light that we are crying out for and FF will keep stumbling from crisis to crisis safe in the knowledge that the other side still haven't got their act together. It would make you wonder do FF want to be in power at the moment and do the opposition want to take over.
Likewise the opposition TDs are an easy target. Try spending 6-7 nights going to residents meetings and rubber chicken fundraisers. Try going for a job interview in front of 100,000 every 5 years, and paying €30k - €50k of your own resources to prepare for the interview. Try not seeing your family for months at a stretch. You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy.Im not pro FF, but they are an easy target with things so bad. At the end of the day, we are only scapegoating them for our mistakes (ie voting for them and demanding tax cuts and not highlighting obvious deficiencies in the financial regulation!). We all knew that things werent right (builders, banks . . etc) but nobody wanted to face it as times were so good. The government generally mirrors its people . Take what you will from that .
Likewise the opposition TDs are an easy target. Try spending 6-7 nights going to residents meetings and rubber chicken fundraisers. Try going for a job interview in front of 100,000 every 5 years, and paying €30k - €50k of your own resources to prepare for the interview. Try not seeing your family for months at a stretch. You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy.
The easiest thing in politics is to say that FF are and have been doing everything wrong when the whole world appears to be falling apart.
Lenihan replied with the fact that the world economic crisis wasn't started by Irish house prices. And he is 100% right. We are only a very small player and we were always going to get hit hard no matter how well any Gov had prepared for it.
I'm not suggesting that they are deserving of sympathy, and indeed I agree that they do know what they are getting into and they are well rewarded. Mind you, the €250k figure is a measure of cost not a measure of remuneration.I have little symapthy for TD's.
It is a unique occupation in that everybody who is in it already knows what they are getting into. The majority of TD's are already in politics at some level and know exactly what the deal is. Also, Irish TD's are very well remunerated, recent figures stated that each TD costs €250,000 plus their generous pensions and allowances for other staff including researchers.
The reality is that the TD that attempts to take this noble approach won't be a TD for long, and will get beaten by the local sleeveen who jumps in every pothole and climbs up every busted streetlamp.TD's have also had an opportunity to rise above local politicals issues since councillors are now paid but they have chosen not to do so.
The reality is that the TD that attempts to take this noble approach won't be a TD for long, and will get beaten by the local sleeveen who jumps in every pothole and climbs up every busted streetlamp.
Some times that is because the easy thing is the correct thing, FF have been in power since 1997, and made no allowance at any stage for the end of the property/construction boom which they helped create despie the fact of being warned by the ESRI that it was unsustainable. This is the same ESRI that AAM'ers love to quote on their recent report on public sector pay.
In the current mood of self flagellation and doom and gloom we forget that we had a very successful economic policies that attracted pharmaceuticals ,computer and other industries to ireland and also the success of the IFSC which was created from nothing.
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