With the legal challenge to the constituency boundaries by Finian McGrath and Catherine Murphy, this has brought up the problem of under and over representation of certain areas. With the timing of the census just a year before elections, this has caused the problem that McGrath and Murphy are seeking to highlight. This is insufficient timing to allow boundary revisions to take place.
Friends of the Earth has launched a campaign urging election candidates to support a law to reduce Ireland's climate pollution. A new website, actforclimate.ie, enables the public to email their local candidates asking them where they stand on climate change and will they support a climate protection law if elected to the Dail. In the short time since the site went live, voters in 38 of the state's 43 constituencies have contacted their candidates to say that climate change is an important issue to them.
After 7 years involvement with the M3/Tara issue and with all the learning and experience that that entailed, I have become ever more baffled as to how the Tara landscape, with its inherent complexity, was ever chosen as a preferred route for a four lane motorway. The choice was shown to be clearly wrong from the beginning and as each new bit of information unfolded, it became even more wrong and nonsensical.
Dear Candidate,
Following the legal vindication of the Rossport 5 in the High Court on Wed 18th April, and with the imminent election 24th of May, I am writing to you on behalf of the many local supporters of the Shell to Sea campaign, to ask for clarification of your stance on key issues relevant to the Shell Corrib Gas project and future development plans nationwide.
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Are we are now more dependent on Energy Imports than ever before? In spite of signing up to Kyoto accords, Government has not done the obvious to reduce waste of energy: Vehicle registration tax (VRT) has not been turned into energy saving tax - dependent on the fuel efficiency km/litre of vehicles. Once inefficient vehicles are purchased there is an ongoing commitment to waste of resources.
Since Garret Fitzgerald's time, up to this week, I was an enthusiastic Fine Gael voter. I remember a real sense of disappointment when John Bruton's coalition was voted out of office. I will not be voting for Enda Kenny's flavour of Fine Gael, however. The reason is my total disgust at his effrontery in giving a guarantee to the The Irish Catholic newspaper that, if returned, his party will not legislate on the abortion issues highlighted by the "X" case.
The Fine Gael General Election Manifesto 2007 says the party in government will conduct an independent study on the feasibility of either a third independent terminal for Dublin Airport or a second airport for the East Coast region. We also welcome the manifestos commitment to develop a national aviation policy.
Choice Ireland commend the High Court verdict in favour of Miss D's right to travel for an abortion. Nevertheless we are appalled by the treatment Miss D has received at the hands of our state. It is simply unacceptable that yet another woman has been dragged through the courts in order to vindicate her rights and her choice. It is also unacceptable that Miss D will now be forced overseas in order to obtain her choice of an abortion.
I've been wondering for some time what to do when canvassers call to my door. In the past I've found myself engaged in acrimonious arguments with people against whom I bear no personal animosity, perfectly nice people who just happen to represent a party I dislike.
Even if it obscures the debate on policy, the question of Bertie Ahern's finances is critical for our democracy. The reason is fairly simple : the cost of corruption is enormous. We know that nods and winks and bags of cash infected the core of our political culture and we know how chunks of our cities are disfigured as a result. We know how terrible decisions were taken that favoured old friends over the public good. It's a scar on our democracy that can only be healed by a vigorous commitment to transparency and accountability.