Move over Gerry?
Pearse Doherty was being cross questioned on RTE radio today about how Sinn Fein could implement cuts in Northern Ireland whilst opposing them in the Republic (the same charge of double standards which was levelled at the party by the eirigi General Secretary Breandán Mac Cionnaith). The Donegal TD defended Sinn Fein by pointing out that the Stormont Executive can't raise taxes, whilst the Irish government can.
The pundits on the programme felt Pearse Doherty held his own against Pat Rabbitte and would be "a thorn in Labour's side" as the campaign got underway. Then Noel Whelan ( a former Fianna Fail candidate and author of the Tallyman's campaign handbook) chipped in with a bit of advice for Sinn Fein: "keep Gerry Adams in Dundalk".
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~03~RS~)
I'm 
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
Mark,
Did you see the arrogance of Sean O'Rourke on RTE last night. At the end of his show, he said thanks to his guests... Martin Ferris of 'Fianna fail'. When asked to clarify by Ferris, O'Rourke refused. I see it has been edited on the RTE Player. Talk about planting seeds of doubt. Typical anti-Sinn Fein RTE.
I really hope Sinn Fein do well in these coming elections. The dream of 1918 may be a reality sooner, rather than later!!!
Complain about this comment
I Watched Frontline last night and unfortunately there appears to be almost a blanket denial about the size of the problem. Everyone is blaming everyone else. The first whipping boys are the bankers and lets face it they were less than diligent in the delivery of their industry. Secondly we have the politicans and similarly they were negligent. Then we have the developers who built and profiteered off an unsustainable market and raked up loans that they were never going to be able to pay even if the market had just leveled out. And finally we have the populous who the vast majority bought into the tiger dream and lived well above their means which has left Ireland with the highest personal debt globally. So who was to blame, the issues is all of them and what are they now left with, a Public Debt of €94,528,298,164 which has to be furnished and some how has to be payed down. Non of the parties appear to have a clear idea on how this can be achieved and the worrying thing is that there will probably be a complete mishmash with a split across the board with independents possibly holding the balance of power. This will create utter chaos and probably just take them further down the road of ruin. With a population of just over 6 million there must be a realisation that at some time they will have to pay the piper but that is not there yet. And, and it is a very big and there is still too large a deficit which means that the size of the public debt will just continue to grow and as it does the cost of furnishing it will grow as well. So is defaulting an option, well yes and no. Yes if you want to see Ireland kicked out of the Euro and probably out of the EU while entering a period in the wilderness which will make the austerity of their current budget look like Nirvana. No, and you have to follow a mix of tax and cuts which is a very fine balancing act. For if you tax individuals too much then it will force them to leave and take their inherent wealth with them and if you cut too much you will disenfranchise the public. The reverse for these is the same. It is not an easy thing to do and needs experts and unfortunately they will come from the IMF. Now I know that they are never popular but it should be noted that over the last thirty plus years all the countries that they have had to intervene in have turned the corner and have gone onto bigger and better things. So if the IMF were popular they would not be doing their job for they are the ones that tell it like it is and not what the public want to hear. Which brings us back around to where I started and who is to blame, well all of the above and it is they who will "ALL" have to contribute into rebuilding the nation. Will the tiger economy ever return, I hope not as it was never a sustainable economy but what can is a solid country with a stable economy which gives its citizens a good quality of life and make a contribution to the global welfare.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS