Democracy does not work
Democracy in this Godforsaken country does not work.
Democracy is supposed to represent power for the people, by the people. In this country, it represents power for the elite, by the elite gobshites.
How would I go about changing things?
First of all, scrap the constitution. It is supposed to be the written aspirations of a country, not a fucking rulebook. Any constitution that can be cited as a reason for not reducing a judge’s pay has to be seriously off the rails.
Scrap our entire electoral system as we know it. It doesn’t work. Any system that places a small town solicitor in charge of a country is asking for trouble. Any system than can have a pig ignorant social worker as second in command is dangerous. Any system that has a national politician sorting out individual social welfare payments or broken street lights is laughable.
Local elections are fine. They carry on as before, and the elected representatives look after their county which is the way it should be. National elections however would be non constituency based. Anyone can vote for any candidate no matter where they are standing. TDs would therefore be national representatives which is their purpose in the first place. They would have no say whatsoever in local affairs, which would eliminate the ‘parish pump’ politics which is the scourge of our times. I would also slash the number of TDs and abolish the Senate.
I like the idea of appointing ministers, not from the pool of elected TDs, but from public competition. That way, people can be appointed according to their real suitability and there are no more bicycle shop owners trying to organise communications, or farmers’ daughters running the education system.
Rewrite our legal system. It is outdated, cumbersome and half the laws should be scrapped anyway.
Tell Europe to mind their own fucking business when it comes to how we run things.
It needs some ironing out, but I think it could work?
The only problem is that turkeys never vote for Christmas, so there is only one way this could come about.
Anyone for a revolution?
I Have been advocating this for a long long time Grandad, but this system has its faults too.
The list system as used in countries such as Austria can be manipulated as the political parties choose those on the list, a good position on the list helps someone get elected. So instead of going to funerals etc to get votes the fuckers would just go to them to ensure a good place on the list.
I believe no minister should be a sitting TD, he / she should only have one job & one alone and should be appointed based on their suitability & qualification to hold the position & these qualifications should be a matter of public record. Therefore we would not have a fucking school teacher or social worker running a Govt department.
Like him or loathe him I would prefer to live under a government that had the power to appoint an economist such as David MCWilliams to the finance portfolio & then allow him a free hand – (no party whip bollox) to do the job.
The possibilities & benefits of this type of Government are endless, such as a good minister holding his job after a general election where the Taoiseach that appointed him lost.
Yeah I know Lunacy
I know there are still problems with this method, but surely it is better than the one we have? Just as an example, look at the likes of Jackie Healy Rae who does absolutely fuck all for the country, but keeps getting elected because he syphons money into Kerry to buy votes.
Apart from anything else, think of the money that would be saved by cutting down on the number of TDs, and having them doing the job they are elected to do, instead of farting around their constituencies all the time.
Get out on the streets Grandad. I was on the march on Tuesday. I’m going on the next one too.
There was only a few people who had a run at gates of the Dail so there won’t be any messing next week.
Most people were families, couples, individuals who are not aligned to anything, just ordinary joes pissed off with the state of things.
The plan is to march every Tuesday, grow the crowd and put the pressure on until the Government resigns and calls an election.
No point bitching and moaning. Get out there and march.
You show a fundamental misunderstanding of your political system. Representing their constituencies and its members at the local level is exactly what they are elected to do. I heartily recommend a crash course in government 101 at your local community college.
Holemaster – Where and when is the meetup? Are weapons provided?
TT – I understand only too well how our system works. I also know how it should work, and why it doesn’t. Politicians should be elected to national level, to be involved with national issues. Local councillors are elected to work with local [constituency] issues. Our national politicians spend the majority of their time [on vast salaries] dealing with trivial issues such as the issuing of passports or planning appeals, which should be none of their business. When I vote for a national politician, I cast my vote on national issues, not whether the fucker can fix the potholes in my road.
The existing system is as I said. They select ministerial departments at the national level to deal with national issues. Honest they do.
TT – I know. And they are paid silly money for being ministers, even though they have no more qualifications for the job than myself. They then spend most of their time back home in their ‘clinics’ sorting out petty local issues that are the responsibility of other people, instead of doing their miniterial thing. It is a massive waste of time and money. It does not work.
I’m off to the pub !
What would happen if all ministerial salaries were comparable to those offered for the equivalent jobs in the public sector? Suppose the Minister for Education got the same money as the the Principal of a Secondary school ( plus reasonable expenses) . How many trough snorting political hacks do you think would be lining up for the job? My guess is something less than none. But maybe someone with an iota of social conscience and twice the qualifications, would step up to the plate and say,’ I can do a better job than the twat that was in here before me’. Extrapolate that through all the departments and who knows, you might end up with some sort of responsible government. Putting down my Pollanna glasses now.
I totally agree with you Grandad, especially in the case of Jackie Healey Rae or for that matter any fucking TD that’s elected on a specific issue, e.g a TD elected on an anti Water Charges mandate, or anti cutbacks in a local service etc., etc.
TT – We all understand how our political system works / is supposed to work, the thing is it doesn’t. We end up with TD’s being made up to ministers because of the size of the vote they achieved & the constituency they come from i.e. will they bring in another seat at the next election, for example, see the promotion of that tosser Carey to Minister because Willie O’Dea had to resign, FF needed a minister from that area, it had nothing to do with ability or qualifications.
Ministers only spend 3 days in their cabinet offices each week, they leave for their constituencies on Thursday evening / Friday morning & do not return until Monday evening / Tuesday morning.
I don’t know how anyone else feels but I don’t want to see ministers for Economic Development, Education, Health etc wanking around in their constituencies listening to Mrs Murphy’s problems re getting her bus pass or whatever, this is the work of a local politician & not that of a minister.
Ministers should actually be above this sort of thing, they should be fully qualified for the portfolio they hold and their qualifications should be a matter of public record. No more school teachers running Foreign Affairs or Social Workers running Education.
This I believe is the only way forward, then ministers can be truly held accountable if they fuck up because they can be sacked by the Taoiseach without destabilising an otherwise effective Government. (Provided the Govt is not Fianna Fail).
We could use a system of 50 TD’s elected locally to deal with local issues, 50 TD’s elected Nationally on a List System basis to deal with National Issues and then Ministers should be totally separate again.
They should be appointed based on their ability & qualifications, they need not be elected TD’s but if they are they should have to resign their seat in order to take up the post (By-election to refill if necessary). They then work 5 – 7 days a week on their portfolio & nothing else, they should receive a substantial remuneration package partly based on achieving targets & I believe most people would be happy with this.
Oh I forgot to mention, abolish the Seanad
Grandad
There is another protest this coming Tuesday at the Dáil starting at 7.30pm. The Gardaí will attempt to cause trouble at this march because the government are getting afraid, now that the people are beginning to act rather than just talking about it.
The Gardaí tried to stop the march last week by illegally attempting to confiscate the PA equipment. Gardaí don’t make those decisions themselves, people like Fianna Fáil Minister Dermot Aherne make those decisions to prevent democratic protests from happening and to prevent the voice of ordinary people being heard over those of establishment solicitors, bankers, landowner developers.
Just think back to the Nice treaty referenda. What other country would be told to vote again? We’re apathetic sheep in this country.
But not anymore Grandad! Get the family out with you. I know K8 is probably otherwise occupied at the moment though.
7.30pm, May 18th, Dáil Eireann on Kildare Street.
You guys! There are very many people around the world who would give their right arm to have the right that you have to confront their lawmaker face to face and say whatever they want. You should take full advantage of this right you enjoy rather than complaining about your government in the ways you choose. Which pretty much amounts to griping on line. Make an appointment to see your TD at his surgery. Go and speak your mind and say what you want to say. If this access was taken away from you you would be the first to be up in arms about it. “Those faceless politicians and bureaucrats in Dublin who are unaccountable.” I can read your headline now.
They don’t listen though TT and they don’t answer correspondence. I’ve been at my TDs office and told him what I thought of NAMA and the health service. All I heard was excuses. I had to leave before I hit him.
They rely on the apathy of Irish people to get away with their corruption. We have to protest and march on the Dáil to show we are no longer going to accept it.
You think that marching and protesting will make a scrap of difference? I marched and protested a lot in years gone by. It made me feel better but didn’t change a damn thing.
In fact, a major march and protest by the Zimmer Frame Brigade forced a radical U-turn after the last budget – the government planned to introduce punitive cuts on the OAPs [their main thrust for cuts is against the low paid, the old, the young and the disabled]. Immediately after the protests, the majority of the OAP cuts were dropped. Yes. Marching and protesting does make a difference.
Oh come on! OAPs on Zimmers win one. Well, rest your case. Marching and protesting does make a difference. So does prayer once in a blue moon. I bet blind cute puppy dogs would win one too.
TT, I would never give up on my right to protest and would never give up trying. To do otherwise is to hand over your life to people who care less for you than the dog on the street.
This country has a choice, political reform or a Brussels that will continue to justify centralisation of power over the coming years. No reform – no defence.