Monday, 12 Oct 2009

Topic: Greens and Programme for Government.
Participants: Fionan Sheehan, Harry McGee, Alan Ruddock, Sarah Carey and Sinead O’Driscoll.

The state is so corrupt .its impossible to put a start and a finish to it. Transparency and accountability is a joke. all or at least nearly all state. Public bodies are corrupt and rotten to the core .also they  are covered by their own P'R . And government P R lies. And spin .. I am in the Irish army .And the waste .manipulation and corrupt use of funds and resources by some is unreal .Also massive. And very widespread .. The army is an over budgeted gravy machine for about 40 per cent of its serving corps ..And a career machine for the big boy's. No shame for them. Joe.. Kildare serving soldier .

Why are government taking hard stand and cutting social welfare, why dont they take the easy stand and cut their own 1. pay and 2.expenses! Hannah

The Greens made a big fuss about the reintroduction of third level fees but there was not even a whimper from them when the Department of Agriculture phased out the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme earlier this year. At least the Greens have cornered the badger vote for the next election. Joe, Belmullet.

Shouldn't we do what the UK has done and appoint someone to examine all TD's expenses with a view to making them pay it back. John Fair Castlebar

Must the minister for health (Mary Harney) go next over expenses.  Mike Shiels

I've just started college at 29 years of age doing a course i love and have wanted to do for years. If fees come in, I’ll have to withdraw from the course. How is that fair? Just because i can't afford fees, that shouldn't stop me from making a better life for myself. I'm not getting money from anywhere apart from the grant  and it's already a big struggle. And i HAVE looked for part time work, but can't find any. I was only part time in my last job which finished up in august. What am i meant to do if they tell me to pay fees? Annie, Dundalk

Enda Kenny for Ceann Comhairle. Daithi, Mhaigh Eo

If you had your way you would beggar everyone with a bit of ambition and "get up and go". Sounds like in your book its a sin to be any way successful. Who will pay the taxes when you could have driven most people to the dole office. John in Dublin .

Vincent needs to get real on welfare, the central bank exposed the fact that between 2001 & 06, a sustained period of FULL employment, welfare rates doubled. The country therefore rewarded lazy social leeches, when it should have substantially cut their rate. We should still do so immediately , and increase rates for those who have worked and will work. Stephen Kearon , Ballinaclash , Co Wicklow

Why doesn’t the government take child benefit of the doctors and nurses and judges not the poor Bridget

Child benefit is a lifeline for the majority of families in Ireland parents are worried leave child benefit alone from Teresa in Dublin .

If Gormley could not stop the incinerator going ahead in his constituency what hopes are there for no third level fees.

The proposal to give the graduates work is to save the middle classes the embarrassment of having their children collect the dole. Discrimination. Dolores

Michael McDowell was right about the Greens. They are a bunch of muesli eating tree huggers. They will be gone after the next election. Last gasp of a dying party.

I think the government is a joke, they keep kicking the people on the bottom while they keep filling their own pockets. Give them the same as a single person on the dole and let them see how hard it is to live on.
 
Did u honestly think that the greens were going to get off the gravy train... The whole of the Dáil and senate are so devoid of reality that the current recession is heading to a full blown recession and none of them are doing 1 thing to stop it...from Mick in Tullamore...

There is no economic analysis in the Programme. Its like some wish list a group of transition year students wrote with no budget. Green capitalism at its most naive. Pat in Donegal

Surely the biggest achievement of the greens is to get the GPO turned into the abbey - theatre of the absurd brought to life and given a post code Michael Dublin

If middle and senior administrators in the public and civil service were given a proper pay cut, to bring their salaries in line with their equivalent administrative positions in the private sector, there would be ample savings generated to preserve essential frontline services in the public interest. It is typical tactic of the public service mandarins, tacitly supported by the trade unions, to axe low-paid frontline public service jobs, which generate relatively low savings, so as to bring public pressure to bear on a weak Government to reverse necessary cutbacks. From Barry Sheehan, Cork

Who will pay compensation to fur farmers and how much will it cost also what will happen Deer Herd in the Ward area now that ward union dont need it. Why do the Greens want to effect major change to rural Ireland such as keeping pets hunting ban by stealth etc. Longford viewer. K

Irish society better served by having Greens in government...Of course to do that they have to compromise to get some concessions but if FF were in power by themselves Irish society would be worse served. Greens shouldn’t suffer at next election because they had the courage to compromise to get some of their own agenda implemented ..The other option they had was to sit on the sidelines with no influence on government policy. Pat, Portlaoise

I thought the Greens were a new dawn for Irish Politics but how wrong was I. They are like the rest, power, photo shoots and the smell of the £ and morals go out the window. Nick, Galway .

Fianna Fail....naturally, don't want to 'lose' a seat. There is a very safe one in Limerick . If only for the "craic" and to liven up Leinster House. I want to start a........"Willie for C.C." campaign.

Let the "show" begin...... Tom McLoughlin, Baile na mBrabhach, Inverin, Co. Galway .

the teachers union biased the green party conference and abandoned the special needs children for whom they passionately marched for in November on the streets of this country. D Murphy
 

I suggest re-naming the Green Party to The Progressive Demi-Greens.  As their electoral lifespan is now guaranteed to be as terminal as that of the Progressive Democrats in the previous coalition. But at least several rodents are being saved under the Green Party agenda which will bring down their price.  So thankfully we should all be able to afford Mink & Hare for the dinner table at last. God knows we can afford little else.!! Paul O'Neill, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow