Many Critical Reactions to the Commission on Taxation's Recommendations

Irish opposition politicians have said they expect the government to use the report of the Commission on Taxation (see yesterday's entry below) "to tackle the shortfall in the public finances".

Fine Gael's deputy leader and Finance spokesman Richard Bruton (left) said that Fianna Fáil was "trying to tax its way back to recovery, and that no country has ever managed to do this".

"The last thing families and taxpayers need at this time of deepening economic crisis is dreaming up even more ways to tax them to pay for Ireland's unreformed, often dysfunctional and high-cost public service," Deputy Bruton said.
"No country has ever taxed its way back to recovery, but that is exactly what Fianna Fáil is trying to do."
"Ireland's tax system may need to be redesigned to support employment and investment, but the government's focus should not be on increasing overall tax levels," he added.

Fine Gael's newest TD (and former RTÉ economics editor) George Lee (right) stated that people would have to wait and see whether the report was a fair one. This would depend on what choices the government made from the menu provided by the commission, he said.

Joan Burton (left), deputy leader and spokesperson for Finance of the Labour Party, said she was "amazed that the commission has not tackled the issue of property based tax relief" and claimed that "the dominance of tax lobbyists in the commission's make up contributed to them side-lining this important issue".

Deputy Burton stated that the report would require "careful study" and called for it to be used "to address glaring anomalies in the tax system".
She added that despite the commission's description of the report as "revenue-neutral", it would be difficult not to see some of the new taxes being proposed being used to plug the gap in the public finances.

Sinn Féin's Finance spokesperson Arthur Morgan (right) said he expected the report to be used to increase taxation of ordinary people.
"This report unfairly targets households, as does the McCarthy Report, to pay for the government's mismanagement of the Irish economy," he said.
"It is not a restructuring of the tax system based on fairness - it is an attempt to squeeze even further ordinary people struggling to make ends meet."

Meanwhile the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) criticised the report's proposals on carbon tax and changes to the capital allowance system.

IFA President Padraig Walshe (left) said he was "very concerned" that a carbon tax will add another cost to the productive, export-driven sectors of the economy and will also discriminate against farmers and rural dwellers who do not have the option of public transport.

He thinks the recommendation to change the capital allowance system will undermine any future investment in farm buildings in Ireland.

Con Lucey, the IFA Chief Economist, was a member of the Commission on Taxation.

Another farm group, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), which has demonstrated against low milk prices outside Government Buildings in Dublin only last Friday (see my entry of September 4th), said that the proposal for a new carbon tax would "fall disproportionately on the agri-food sector and considerably worsen Ireland's competitive position".

The Arts Council has said it will make a "strong case" to the government for the retention of the artists' tax exemption scheme.
Its President Pat Moylan said that if the exemption is abolished, Ireland could lose entirely a considerable number of artists, and that this would not be for the public good.
She added that a study had shown that the Exchequer would lose tax revenue if the exemption is scrapped.

The Emerald Islander

Urgent Review of Dublin 'Bus Gate' demanded

Dublin city centre businesses have called for an urgent review of the car-free zone at College Green, claiming it has "caused a serious decline in trade".

A hastily arranged meeting of business people in the city heard that Thursday night trade in particular has been badly affected by the 'bus gate'. (Thursday is still the day when most Irish people receive their weekly wages, and various social welfare payments are made on Thursdays as well.)

The operator of the Brown Thomas car park said that "trade is down 75% in the evenings".

The Dublin 'bus gate' came into operation at the end of July, banning private cars from passing Trinity College during morning and evening rush hours.

Dublin City Council has promised a review of the situation next January.

However, Fine Gael Councillor Gerry Breen said that "many shop workers could be on the dole by then".

A spokesman for Dublin City Council declared it will "look at ways of encouraging shoppers who travel in cars into the city".
He said that it seemed the 'bus gate' had been "a success for bus passengers and pedestrians".

But, as in so many other Irish cities and towns, a reduction of traffic in city centres also means a reduction of business there.

The Emerald Islander

Railway Safety Commission failed to do its Duty "because it could not employ enough Staff"

Critical safety checks on Ireland's railway system have not been carried out for the past three years, because the official body charged with the inspections did not have enough staff.

According to a report in the Irish Independent newspaper, Iarnród Éireann (Ireland's state-owned railway company) "admitted that its inspection regime - covering more than 1200 bridges - would need to be reviewed after one of the busiest rail lines in the country collapsed into the sea last week". (see my entries of August 22nd, 23rd & 26th)

The Railway Safety Commission (RSC) has revealed that it was "too busy approving new rail projects to carry out planned safety checks on existing lines". It was not employing enough staff and apparently "only able to recruit the full complement of safety inspectors this year".

The RSC is charged with ensuring that Iarnród Éireann and other operators perform to the highest safety standards. But it has emerged that just half of the necessary staff were in place to cope with the huge workload of checking safety systems.

The Irish Independent also reports that:

• The RSC has warned about a lack of inspectors since it began its operations in 2006.
• It said this "lack of resources" prevented it from "devoting the time we would wish" to safety checks.
• It had just four inspectors responsible for almost 2000 km of rail lines and hundreds of bridges until this year.
• Only in 2009 could it recruit an additional three inspectors, bringing the total employed to seven.

As I have reported here earlier (see my entry of August 22nd), the Broadmeadow viaduct, which crosses open water in North-Dublin, collapsed into the sea despite being passed as "safe" following not one, but - as it has now emerged - two inspections by Iarnród Éireann engineers.

According to the Irish Independent, "the company stands by its inspection regime" and is "defending a decision to pass the structure as safe", despite having been told by members of the Malahide Sea Scouts (referred to originally by an Iarnród Éireann spokesman as "a member of the public") that one of the supporting piers was damaged.

The paper also reports that the collapsed pier that caused the viaduct to fall into the water will not be rebuilt. Instead, rail engineers are planning to "strengthen the line", whatever this means.

Serious questions have been raised over how a supposedly 'safe' bridge could suddenly fall into the sea after two inspections.
As additional details emerge about the incident and the more than lax inspection regime of RSC and Iarnród Éireann, it becomes clear that we are unveiling another major Irish scandal here.

There are further concerns about the general safety on Ireland's rail network, especially as the Railway Safety Programme was extended from five to seven years in an effort to reduce costs in last year's Budget.

Ensuring that bridges, viaducts, railway lines, level crossings and all other pieces of Ireland's rail infrastructure are safe is a key plank of the RSC's brief.
Last year, it also approved 57 infrastructure projects, ranging from construction of new bridges to the approval of new Luas (Dublin's city tram) extensions, which led to the postponement of vital inspections.

"The number of railway projects that required RSC approval meant that we were able to commit less time to performance auditing and monitoring than we would have wished," the inspection body warned in its 2008 report.
"A safety management system is only as effective as its implementation. Assessing the railway undertakings' safety case compliance is an essential part of the RSC's work, but lack of resources has, in the past, prevented us devoting the time we would wish to this task."

Fergus O'Dowd, TD (left), Transport spokesman for the main opposition party Fine Gael, said that the Railway Safety Programme had seen its funding cut, and that there is "a lack of accountability" in relation to the Broadmeadow inquiry.
"They're the regulator of the industry, and the guarantor of safety on the trains. I would be very concerned," he said.

Under the Railway Safety Act 2005, Iarnród Éireann is required to commission an independent audit of its safety management system every four years. The next audit is scheduled for 2010.
It will - among other issues - consider if inspections of the Broadmeadow viaduct were regular enough, and if an underwater survey of the pier should have been conducted.

Iarnród Éireann and the RSC are also expected to appear before the Dáil Transport Committee next month to answer questions about safety.

In my opinion a full and independent inquiry into the incident and into the general safety of the Irish railway network is urgently required. On its own Iarnród Éireann can no longer be trusted.

The Emerald Islander

Eamon Gilmore calls again for the temporary Nationalisation of Ireland's major Banks

Eamon Gilmore (photo), leader of Ireland's Labour Party, has again called for the temporary nationalisation of the country's main banks "as an alternative to the setting up of the government-proposed National Asset Management Agency (NAMA)".

Speaking on RTÉ News, Gilmore said that "a mechanism should be established to write down bad debts, before returning the banks to the market when they are restored to good order".

The Labour Party leader also emphasised that "it is a necessity to get the banks lending to businesses again".

His proposal was not without cost, Gilmore added, but he claimed it would mean a lot less risk for the taxpayer than the government's plan.

Under the government's proposed legislation, NAMA would be taking over € 90 billion worth of debt away from Irish banks, so that they can start lending again.

The amount NAMA would pay for the debt has yet to be decided. But in an article, published in yesterday's edition of The Irish Times, 46 economists warned that NAMA might pay too much and thus create an extra burden for Ireland's taxpayers. (see yesterday's entry below)

Fine Gael has already stated that it will oppose the government's NAMA plan when the Dáil debates the legislation next month. Since Sinn Féin, which demands a referendum on NAMA, is against it as well, this means that all opposition parties in parliament are united on the matter, even though they do not agree on the details of possible alternatives.

The Green Party, who is the junior partner in the government coalition, will hold a special conference to debate the plan. (see my entry of August 25th)
The outcome of this conference is far from certain, and neither is the continuous support of the Green Party for the current government.

As things stand at present, anything is possible. A temporary nationalisation of our major banks - as demanded today and previously by Eamon Gilmore and his party, as well as by Sinn Féin and the Socialist Party in separate statements - would in my opinion be the safest and least costly option.

We can expect that the government will not listen and stick to its original plan. So I suggest that now is a good time to contact your local TDs, especially those from Fianna Fáil, and tell them in no uncertain terms what you think of NAMA. It might also be helpful to mention that their own seat will be in serious danger if they ram through a legislation that no one in the country really wants, but for which everyone would have to pay severely over decades to come.

The Emerald Islander

Donegal has no Money for Gweedore Clean-up

After more than 24 hours of embarrassing silence (during which not even their official website mentioned the flash floods at Gweedore - and the various related local traffic restrictions - with a single word) Donegal County Council has eventually woken up and issued a first statement on the matter.

One would have expected some words of support for the battered community at Gweedore, but no such friendliness was offered to the victims of freak weather conditions by the 29 Councillors who were only elected to their positions on the 5th of this month.

In fact, the only statement issued by a Council spokesman today came as a shock to residents and businesspeople in Gweedore, who spent the day assessing damage to their properties and cleaning up after the torrential rain and floods as good as they could.

While parts of the Gaeltacht community at the Atlantic coast are still covered by inches of water (photo right) and eager Council officials were driving around the area to assess the damage flood waters and landslides have done to the roads and bridges (which are their responsibility), the Council spokesman simply declared: "Donegal has no money to pay for the clean-up at Gweedore."

Is it really that easy in the banana republic Ireland has become under twelve years of Fianna Fáil government to cast off public responsibilities?

It seems that the freshly elected clowns in Co. Donegal are at least giving it a real try. And they only do it because the local election is over and thus they are safe in their seats for the next five years. They would never dare to even think of such an arrogant and ignorant attitude if election day were still to come.

Obviously the whole country is in recession and suffering on top of that from a serious financial crisis, mostly of our own making. So money is tight everywhere, not just in Co. Donegal.
However, in a case like this - with freak torrential rainfall and subsequent flash floods that hit Gweedore yesterday - the least one could and should expect from one's County Council is some solidarity, support and positive action.

But all the good citizens of Gweedore are getting from their elected local representatives are the usual incompetence of Irish politicians, a lame excuse and the stingy attempt to pass the buck on grounds of insolvency. No-one on Donegal County Council seems to have a thought for the hundreds of people who were directly affected by yesterday's freak weather and whose houses and/or business premises are damaged now as a result.

So far the only - and thus lonely - voice of support for the people of Gweedore is that of local Fine Gael TD Dinny McGinley (left).
The outspoken and popular opposition politician promised to raise a question in the Dáil about some emergency funding being provided to help the people of the parish.
If he will be successful with this remains to be seen. Every Irish government department is currently trying to safe money, while Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is attempting the impossible: to balance the state's books at a time of massive deficit. (see also my entry of June 3rd)

However, as Gweedore is the largest Gaeltacht parish in the whole of Ireland, there should at least be some money from the Department of Community & Gaeltacht Affairs available for its people in a time of need.
I will be following the debate in the Dáil on this matter with great interest.

The Emerald Islander

P.S. - For a detailed report on the freak weather conditions that hit Gweedore yesterday, please look below for my entry from earlier today.

Small and medium-size Businesses in Danger

Two thirds of small and medium sized businesses in Ireland are under threat due to the current economic crisis, a new survey suggests.

The data has just been published by the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME), and the business trends analysis suggests that smaller companies are facing higher reductions in employment, investment and sales.

Over 600 companies responded to the survey, and 66% said that the viability of their business will be "under threat over the next twelve months" if present conditions remain. The current business environment was described as "poor" or "very poor" by 74% of the enterprises, up from 69% in the previous quarter.

Main concern at present is the ongoing economic uncertainty.

Almost half of the companies surveyed blamed the Irish government for the economic crisis, while 31% said the financial institutions (banks) were primarily at fault.

“The latest survey figures confirm that even though smaller businesses are usually more optimistic, there is little evidence of green shoots in the sector. In fact the second quarter has proven to be more difficult than the first quarter with a noticeable deterioration in sales, employment and investment,” says Jim Curran (left), the Head of Research at ISME.

The report suggests - he added - that Ireland's small businesses are continuing to downsize, with many companies planning to reduce employment numbers and investment levels further over the next number of months.

Commenting on the report, Cork TD Deirdre Clune (right), who is Fine Gael's spokesperson on Innovation, said: “Ireland cannot tax its way out of recession, but can only trade its way out of recession. Exports and the SME sector will play a crucial role in that process.”

Well said, but - as always - friendly words do not solve problems.

All stands or falls with the government and its will and ability to make the right decisions. As long as the present Irish government is in office, there is no hope whatsoever.

A change of government - most likely to a coalition of Fine Gael and Labour Party - might offer some improvements, but I doubt that it would solve all the problems.

That can only be done if the government - regardless which party or parties form(s) it - has the will to apply major changes to our political, social and economic system.
After the serious damage inflicted on the 'traditional capitalist system' by its main players and participants, making repairs will not be enough. What we need is a completely fresh start.

I can see that small and medium-sized enterprises in Ireland and around the world are willing and ready for that.
But the reluctance of governments and most political parties is a huge obstacle. I am looking forward to the next report from ISME and wonder if we will have a chance to recover, or if the unholy alliance of Catholic Church, Fianna Fáil and greedy bankers have destroyed us for good...

The Emerald Islander

State paid € 13.7 Million to political Parties

Latest figures from the Standards in Public Office Commission (SPOC), an independent body established in December 2001, show that the State has provided political parties in Ireland with € 13.7 million of special funding last year.

The parties shared € 5.6 million under the Electoral Acts and € 8.1 million in Party Leaders' Allowances.

In addition, each Independent TD received an allowance of € 41,000, while each Independent Senator got € 23,383.

Money from the state funding cannot be used for electoral or referendum purposes. It has to be accounted for by each party in statements to the SPOC. An exception is made for the Independent TDs and Senators, who do not have to provide Statements of Expenditure.

Last year the various Irish parties received the following sums in state funding:

Fianna Fáil - € 5 million
Fine Gael - € 4.3 million
Labour Party - € 3.1 million.
Sinn Féin - € 800,000
Green Party - € 740,000
Progressive Democrats * - € 450,00

* The Progressive Democrats (PD) are now defunct. But since they still existed last year - at least officially (although they were de facto already a dead party) - they did qualify for the annual state funding.

Latest Poll shows Labour Party gaining Support

With just one week to go to the European and local elections, the latest national opinion poll indicates that Fianna Fáil is still on course for disastrous results on June 5th.

The TNS/MRBI poll, published in today's edition of The Irish Times, shows that the Labour Party is the only party with significant improvements since the last poll a fortnight ago.

If Fianna Fáil were hoping for a late surge in support as this election campaign enters its final week, there is no sign of it so far.
The poll shows the party's support at just 20%, down one point since the last poll two weeks ago. (see my entry of May 15th)

Fine Gael are down two points, to now 36% support. But they are still by far the biggest party, and 16 points ahead of their arch rivals.

As mentioned above, Labour are the only point gainers in this poll. They are up three points to 23%, which puts them nationally in second place, after Fine Gael and ahead of Fianna Fáil.

The Green Party, which is now not much more than the outdoors and gardening department of FF, stands unchanged at 3%. This indicates that their core support still exists, but that no-one else will touch them with a barge pole.

Sinn Féin have dropped one point and stand on 8%, while Independents 'and others' (which includes Libertas) are up one point to now 10%.

However, with separate questioning - focused only on the local elections - Independents 'and others' are getting 19%, almost twice their average national support.

This is no surprise, as the amount of independent candidates or smaller parties and groups (such as the Socialist Party, the Workers' Party, the Socialist Workers' Party and 'People before Profit') is very different from one constituency to the next.*
And it is of course in the nature of independent candidates that each one of them has a different personality and thus will appeal to the electorate in a different way.

Overall satisfaction with the Irish government is - surprisingly - up slightly, but by only two points to a still disastrous 12%. The vast majority of the Irish electorate - now 84% - remains dissatisfied with the government's shambolic performance.

Satisfaction with the Taoiseach is also up - by three points - but at 21% he still has the lowest satisfaction rating of all party leaders. (He is even beaten into last place by his coalition partner, as the Greens' leader John Gormley comes in on 25% support.)

Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore retains the nation's highest satisfaction rating, with now 49%, which is two points lower than his amazing 51% a fortnight ago.

The Emerald Islander


* For example: The Socialist Party and the Workers' Party are both nominally parties with a nation-wide attitude and ambition. And they both have members in different parts of the country.
However, regarding actual strong support and thus any chances for electoral success, the Socialist Party is limited to the northern half of Dublin (city and county), while the last - and currently only - Irish constituency with elected representatives from the Workers' Party (which was founded as a break-away group from the old Sinn Féin) is Waterford City.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael could lose MEP

Following yesterday's amazing national opinion poll (for details see yesterday's entry below), which gives Fine Gael a commanding lead over Fianna Fáil and lists Eamon Gilmore as the most popular party leader in Ireland, The Irish Times is turning the spotlight on the up-coming European elections.

In today's edition the paper publishes another TNS/MRBI poll, this time for the four European constituencies in Ireland, and the first one in this election campaign.
The big surprise is that - according to this poll - both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are apparently "in danger of losing one MEP" on June 5th.

The poll identifies the East constituency as the 'danger zone' for Fine Gael, while Fianna Fáil is in a tight fight with Sinn Féin in Dublin.

In the East, where the veteran MEP Avril Doyle is not standing for re-election, the second outgoing Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness (right) - who was Doyle's surprise running mate five years ago - is rated in the poll on 33% and thus well ahead of her fellow 'blueshirt' John Paul Phelan, who is on 9%.
Unless votes between the two Fine Gael candidates are split in a more equal ratio, the second Fine Gael seat in the East could be lost to the Labour Party's Nessa Childers, daughter of former President Erskine Childers (and until very recently a County Councillor for the Green Party). Fianna Fáil's MEP Liam Aylward is apparently on course to retain his seat.

In Dublin, Fine Gael's veteran MEP Gay Mitchell (left), who is probably the most pro-European politician in Ireland, and Labour's Pronsias de Rossa look at present quite safe. The third seat will be decided between Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald and Eoin Ryan of Fianna Fáil, who are both outgoing MEPs.
As Dublin is losing one of its previously four seats due to the overall down-sizing of the European Parliament, but all four outgoing MEPs are standing for re-election again, one will inevitably lose out.

In the South Fianna Fáil's outgoing MEP Brian Crowley (right), whose personal support clearly outranks that of his party, seems to be certain to return to Brussels and Strasbourg. Fine Gael is likely to win one seat as well, and at present it appears that former GAA President Seán Kelly, parachuted in as a 'celebrity' candidate, has the upper hand over his running mate, the outgoing Fine Gael MEP Colm Burke.
The third seat will be contested by sitting Independent MEP Kathy Sinnot and Toireasa Ferris (daughter of Kerry TD Martin Ferris) of Sinn Féin, with an outsider chance for the Labour Party's Alan Kelly.

The poll also suggests that two of the three seats in the North West would be taken by outgoing MEPs Jim Higgins (left) of Fine Gael and Marian Harkin (Independent), with the third seat going to Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher of Fianna Fáil, who is a former MEP and a sitting TD for Donegal South-West.

If this would indeed be the result on June 5th, it would be a set-back for Declan Ganley (right), the founder and leader of the new Pan-European party Libertas, who also stands as a candidate in the North-West and is confident to be elected.

About 500 people were polled by TNS-MRBI in each of the country's four European constituencies on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week for what is the first European poll of the campaign.
Although it does show some clear trends already, I think that it is too early in the campaign to make serious predictions. But over the coming weeks there will be more opinion polls, all the way until June 5th, when we will have the one and only poll that really counts: the actual election.

The Emerald Islander

A new Poll puts Fine Gael in a commanding Lead, and Eamon Gilmore is the most popular Politician

A new TNS/MRBI poll, published in today's edition of the Irish Times, shows the support for Fine Gael at a new all-time high of 38%.
This gives the largest Irish opposition party a 17-point lead over the main government party Fianna Fáil, which dropped by one point to 21%, its worst rating since the party was founded in 1926 by Eamon de Valera.

The poll also shows a further drop in satisfaction with the government as a whole, and in particular with Taoiseach Brian Cowen, whose personal approval rate has sunk to 18%.

In comparison, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny gets the thumbs-up from a third of the voters (33%), but the darling of the electorate is currently Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore, with an approval rate of 51%.
I cannot think of any time in the past when the leader of the third-largest party in Ireland had such a high approval rate, in fact outclassing both the Taoiseach and the leader of the majority opposition.

Rather surprisingly the Labour Party has dropped four points in public support since the last poll and now stands on 20%.

With the (European and local) election campaigns now under way, the Green Party begins to feel the pinch and to pay the price for its participation in a government coalition led by Fianna Fáil.
In today's poll the Greens are down one point to 3%, which in a football league would clearly be inside the relegation zone.

Sinn Féin, the only parliamentary party that opposed the Lisbon Treaty, remains unchanged on 9% of public support.
The numerous independents and 'others' (which still includes the new Pan-European party Libertas) are also unchanged at 9%.

Predictably Enda Kenny and members of his front bench welcomed the poll with enthusiasm, while the reaction of the Labour Party was rather mixed.

And Fianna Fáil, to no-one's surprise, is still completely in denial.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern (left) tried to put the massive unpopularity of his party down to "the tough decisions we have to make in these difficult times", and to an extent he is certainly right with this assessment.
But what Fianna Fáil is unable - or unwilling - to recognise is the fact that it was no-one but themselves who created this situation. Somehow FF politicians still think that they can and will get away with it (again), without losing votes on a massive scale.

Perhaps on June 6th, which is rather appropriately the 65th anniversary of D-Day, things will be a lot clearer for Ireland and our government. Just as they were for the German government on June 6th, 1944.

The Emerald Islander

44 Irish Candidates stand in European Elections

More than 500 million people in all 27 countries of the EU are entitled to vote in the European Parliament (EP) elections, which are to take place during the first week of June.

As Europe's nations have traditionally different days of the week for elections, the voting process will be spread over four days, from Thursday, June 4th to Sunday, June 7th.

Britain and the Netherlands hold elections traditionally on a Thursday, and thus they will be the first two countries to go to the European polls on June 4th.

Ireland and the Czech Republic follow on Friday, June 5th (with the Czechs extending their vote to a second day, June 6th).

Saturday, June 6th will be election day in Cyprus, Latvia, Malta and Slovakia, as well as the first of the two days set aside for the polls in Italy.

All the other 18 EU countries - two thirds of the member states with the majority of Europe's population - hold elections traditionally on Sundays. They will vote on June 7th, which is also the second polling day for Italy.

The nine 'early bird' nations - including Ireland - will have to wait until Sunday night before exit polls can be published. Then follows the counting of votes, and the results will be known during the early hours of Monday, June 8th.

Candidate nominations for the European Parliament elections closed at 12 o'clock noon today, and after the deadline had passed, it emerged that a total of 44 individuals will contest the (now) twelve EP seats allocated to the Republic of Ireland.

There are seven political parties contesting the 2009 European elections in the Republic of Ireland: Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, the Green Party, Sinn Féin, Libertas and the Socialist Party. Together they are fielding 30 party candidates in the four constituencies, and there are also 14 independent candidates. (For a complete list of all 44 Irish candidates see below, at the end of this article.)

The most remarkable among the Independents are three women: Outgoing North-West MEP Marian Harkin (left), outgoing South MEP Kathy Sinnott (centre), and the political activist and environmentalist Patricia McKenna (right), who has been a Green Party MEP for Dublin from 1994 to 2004. An outspoken campaigner for human rights, the environment and many other issues, McKenna strongly opposed her party's coalition with Fianna Fáil in 2007. For the past two years she was more and more marginalised by the new Green Party leadership and has now left the party to stand in Dublin as an independent candidate for the European Parliament.

In the outgoing European Parliament we had 13 (of the 785) seats, but since the parliamentary reform reduced the overall number of MEPs to 736 for the new five-year session, Ireland lost one seat and retains only twelve, the same amount as Lithuania (and one less than Denmark, Finland and Slovakia). With 99 MEPs Germany has the largest national contingent, and Malta - with only five MEPs - the smallest.

The Irish reduction from 13 to 12 European Parliament seats affects most strongly the Dublin constituency, which is losing one of their currently four MEPs. Like the other three European constituencies in Ireland, Dublin will from now on be a 'three-seater'.
Since the last elections to the European Parliament in 2004 there have also been significant boundary revisions which affect predominantly the North-West constituency. Once covering the province of Connaught and the three Ulster counties in the Republic, this constituency has been enlarged and now also includes counties Clare, Longford, Roscommon and Westmeath. (Thus it is the only of the four constituencies that covers territory in all four Irish provinces.)

Of the 13 outgoing Irish MEPs all but two seek re-election. The retirees are Fine Gael's veteran MEP Avril Doyle (East) and Fianna Fáil's Seán Ó Neachtáin (North-West).
The latter had originally intended to stand again and received the nomination of his party. But then, rather surprisingly, Ó Neachtáin announced only last month that he would not be seeking re-election, apparently on the basis of medical advice he received.

This puts Fianna Fáil in some unexpected extra trouble. After a frantic and secretive consultation process between the party HQ in Dublin and local activists in the constituency, the former Minister of State Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher (left) was hastily appointed as Seán Ó Neachtáin's replacement. Gallagher, currently a Fianna Fáil TD for Donegal South-West, confirmed only this morning - 15 minutes before the deadline for nominations - that he will stand for his party in the North-West, seeking election to the European Parliament.

That the party has chosen him for this task is not a complete surprise, as Gallagher had been an MEP (for the then Connaught-Ulster constituency) from 1994 to 2002 and thus knows the ropes in Brussels. (Between 1981 and 1992 he was a Fianna Fáil TD for Donegal South-West, the same constituency he represents again in Dáil Éireann since 2002.)
From 1987 to 1994 Gallagher was Minister of State for the Marine & the Gaeltacht, and between 2002 and 2004 the No. 2 (junior minister) in the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government.
His last government position was as junior minister in the Department of Health, where he was responsible for 'Health Promotion and Food Safety'. But when Brian Cowen became Taoiseach a year ago, Gallagher was one of the Ministers of State sacked by the new leader.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, former Senator (and Fianna Fáil candidate for the European Parliament) Paschal Mooney said that he was "angered by the nomination of Mr. Gallagher", his party comrade, "because both Fianna Fáil candidates are based in the northern part of the constituency".
Mooney explained that when he had been selected at a convention to stand in the north of the constituency, it was to balance the party ticket, with Seán Ó Neachtáin in the south.

Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher said he was standing "for the good of the constituency" and agreed that two weeks ago he had told (the Irish language TV channel) TG4 that if both he and Mr. Mooney were to stand for Fianna Fáil then there would be no balance.

The fact that the - rather popular - Seán Ó Neachtáin is not contesting the elections after all could provide an opening for Declan Ganley, founder and leader of the new Libertas party, who is standing in the North-West.
Based in Galway, Ganley might well be able to fill the political void left by Ó Neachtáin in the southern part of the constituency, while Gallagher and Mooney are chasing the same votes in the northern part. It will therefore be interesting to watch especially the North-West over the coming weeks.

Another hot-spot will be Dublin, where the one-seat-reduction makes this EP election literally a fight for survival for the capital's four outgoing MEPs Mary Lou McDonald (Sinn Féin), Gay Mitchell (Fine Gael), Proinsias de Rossa (Labour Party) and Eoin Ryan (Fianna Fáil).
One of them will be sacrificed on the altar of parliamentary reform, but the quite tricky question is: which one?

I will follow the developments during the campaign and share my analysis and views with you here over the next three weeks. And even though I am based in the South, my consultancy work will lead me all around the country and give me a good overview of trends and tendencies.
Only one year after the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty and with the current Fianna Fáil-led government the most unpopular in the history of the state, this year's European elections promise to be among the most interesting and most unpredictable since 1973, when Ireland joined the EEC.

The Emerald Islander

Complete List of all Irish Candidates for
the European Parliament Election 2009

DUBLIN Constituency
(10 candidates)

Senator Deirdre de Burca - Green Party
Councillor Eibhlin Byrne - Fianna Fáil
Joe Higgins - Socialist Party
Mary Lou McDonald, MEP - Sinn Féin
Patricia McKenna - Independent
Gay Mitchell, MEP - Fine Gael
Proinsias de Rossa, MEP - Labour Party
Eoin Ryan, MEP - Fianna Fáil
Caroline Simmons - Libertas
Emmanuel Sweeney - Independent

* * *

EAST Constituency
(11 candidates)

Liam Aylward, MEP - Fianna Fáil
Thomas Byrne, TD - Fianna Fáil
Nessa Childers - Labour Party
Kathleen Funchion - Sinn Féin
Paddy Garvey - Independent
Micheál E. Grealy - Independent
Mairéad McGuinness, MEP - Fine Gael
Raymond O'Malley - Libertas
Senator John Paul Phelan - Fine Gael
Tomás Sharkey - Sinn Féin
Jim Tallon - Independent

* * *

NORTH-WEST Constituency
(13 candidates)

Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher, TD - Fianna Fáil
Declan Ganley - Libertas
Marian Harkin, MEP - Independent
Jim Higgins, MEP - Fine Gael
John Francis Higgins - Independent
Thomas King - Independent
Councillor Pádraig Mac Lochlainn - Sinn Féin
Noel McCullough - Independent
Michael McNamara - Independent
Paschal Mooney - Fianna Fáil
Susan O'Keefe - Labour Party
Fiachra Ó Luain - Independent
Senator Joe O'Reilly - Fine Gael

* * *

SOUTH Constituency
(10 candidates)

Senator Dan Boyle - Green Party
Colm Burke, MEP - Fine Gael
Brian Crowley, MEP - Fianna Fáil
Councillor Toiréasa Ferris - Sinn Féin
Senator Alan Kelly - Labour Party
Seán Kelly - Fine Gael
Ned O'Keeffe, TD - Fianna Fáil
Maurice Sexton - Independent
Kathy Sinnott, MEP - Independent
Alexander Stafford - Independent

Heated Dáil Debate over Banking Scandals

While more than 4000 civil servants and public sector workers - including Gardaí - were protesting outside Leinster House against the proposed new pension levy today (see entry below), a heated debate was going on inside the Dáil chamber.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen (left) angrily denied suggestions that he was attempting to protect anyone involved in the Anglo Irish Bank share scandal.
He accused Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny of "impugning his reputation", a charge vehemently rejected by the Mayo TD and most senior deputy in the Dáil .

Cowen told the Dáil that his government was "determined to ensure that due process is followed" and that - if wrong-doing is uncovered - "people will face the legal consequences".

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern (right) said that he "would prefer that the ten individuals involved [in the fraudulent share-buying scandal] be revealed", but that "due process must be allowed to take its course".

Meanwhile it has come to light that the annual report of the now nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, which is expected to be published on Friday, will reveal that a property owned by a member of (former bank boss) Sean FitzPatrick's family was rented by the bank. It is understood that this property is in London.

The Taoiseach stated that he regarded regulatory reform of banking as "a top priority".
In relation to the so-called 'Golden Circle' of ten fraudulent share buyers, he said the issue arose because of "due diligence by the government". He explained that the debts remained and his government would ensure that these debts would be collected by the bank.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny (left) said the government had been "far too timid" about the situation in Ireland's financial institutions, because it was responsible for the failure to regulate the banks properly.
He asked the Taoiseach if he agreed that "a fraud has been perpetrated on the Irish Stock Exchange".

Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore (right) asked why Brian Cowen, when he was Minister for Finance, ordered the Revenue Commissioners to reverse its decision to impose stamp duty on Contracts for Difference (CFD).
These are high-risk investment 'products' where investors can bet on the future direction of a stock, without having to actually buy shares.
Eamon Gilmore said Brian Cowen had already confirmed that he had been lobbied about the issue, and asked for the identity of those involved.

In reply the Taoiseach said as far as he recalled, the lobbying came from "a professional body", but he promised to check with the Department and provide details.

Meanwhile the Green Party has said that it "could review its support for the government if politicians are implicated in the latest banking scandal".
"We are still committed to remaining in government, but that is not an open-ended commitment," the party's chairman, Senator Dan Boyle (left), told a news agency.
Remaining questions about the scandals should be answered quickly instead of the recent 'drip-drip' of revelations, so the damage to Ireland's reputation could be repaired, Boyle added.

After the debate Fine Gael Enda Kenny stated that the public deserved to know the names of the 'Golden Circle' members.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six-One TV News, he said the Irish people now own Anglo Irish Bank and "are entitled to know what is going on".

I wholeheartedly agree, as anyone with a sound mind would. And to go one step further: I do not understand why the government appears to know nothing about all these scandals, and still - after the matters have emerged into the public domain - makes no active efforts to find out what was - and is - going on.
Is it the high level of pure incompetence in our government we have to blame for that, or is Fianna Fáil fully aware of more skeletons hidden in the government's cupboards...?

The Emerald Islander