Parliamentary paralysis

Would anyone here be prepared to stand up and fight in rebellion against the raging war machine that is the Irish Army? Didn't think so.

Now is the time to do it while the army are toting sandbags in Athlone. :D

Vubiant.............your anger is understandable but have you considered the alternative?
Berlin Wall and East European dictatorships spring to mind.
Change comes slow Vub, that is the way of democracy. Rapid change is a recipe for
disaster IMHO. Yes, it satisfies the anger of the multitudes initially, but what will it
achieve?
Instead of the Princess in the Park you might get a thick cnut with a machine gun ordering
you to set spuds or cut turf.
NO NO NO............hold the hold you have, 'till you get the hold you want.
Very old Irish proverb, and it still holds good. No pun intended.

you were all advocates of "Lisbon 2".
enjoy the democracy that will bring :D

oh have you heard about our new european tax!!!

:D :D :D

Part of any solution must be a refurbishing and strengthening of regional /local government .
The disastrous decision by Fianna Fail to abolishrates and motor tax in 1977 to buy an election has led to the steady impoverishment of local authorities .
I heard a discussion y'day on the flood / drainage issue and the point was made that little or nothing had been done by the local councils over the last 30 years.
We can see the connection -30 years ago the money effectively disappeared .
I heard Mary Hanafin and others saying that flood relief would be organised by the various agencies ''on the ground , who know the local needs best '' telling the national eejits in Dublin and then they would release assistance.
But -that's exactly the point . The local agents do know the set-up at close quarters . Why should they have to waste time liaising with Dublin unless in extreme dire straits. The state system in the US works in a way where each state can raise its own finances , has its own police etc , but can call in Federal aid in a disaster situation.
Ireland is in a perilous political plight . It has taken the recession to help people to see finally the stark truth about the bizarre system under which we have been labouring. The Oireachtas set-up is an utter farce .

Would you be confident in the ability of local authorities (I know there is little confidence in national)

This point comes up every time but it can never be an excuse for doing nothing .
Of course there can be corruption in a local authority.
But steps can be taken to obviate this.
I would argue that the education system can be used more effectively to increase children's awareness about how politics works .-at all levels. ....to teach them about the social contract , that services are essential , that they must be paid for and that people in authority must be accountable for their actions and decisions.
There also exists now a much better network of local newspapers and radio stations who can act as watchdogs in rooting out any skullduggery . The continuance of the present structure is hardly an option.
Who was it that said that ultimately ''all politics is local'' ?

Vubiant,
I almost always agree with everything you say, but in your opening post there is something I disagree with.
I wouldn't dissolve the Seanad.
I'd dissolve the Dail.
There are numerous reasons.
1: The Dail has 166 members, the senate only has 60.
2: Senators are paid less than TDs.
3: There are proportionally significantly more cr00ks in the Dail than the Seanad.
4: David Norris is a senator. Willie O'Dea is a TD.
5: The public elects the Dail. The public gave us Donna & Joe & Dustin the Turkey for the Eurovision, eat more Big Macs than Texas Steak Out Prairie Steaks, drink more Paddy whiskey than 18year old Jameson & make Killinaskully one of the most popular shows ever on RTE.
6: Enda suggested dissolving the Seanad.

I'm sure if people think about it there are significantly more good reasons for keeping the seanad & getting rid of the Dail.

PS Were you on the news last night calling for the public to 'storm the houses of the Oireachtas & hanging Lenihan, Cowen, Coughlan et al by the neck, but not with rope as they have brass necks'? Your opening post was similar in tone to that gentleman's outburst.

Trent -as ever, a pleasure to red your posts which not only contain sense and substance but are laced with a delightfully pungent wit. In fact you'd probably make a cracking TD .
But as to the issue - the dissolution of the Dail is hardly a runner -although it might have some merit. Maybe a recast Senate would do a better job .
I think of the US again . They administer a population of almost 300,000,000 multi-cultural peoples with a House of 400 + reps and a Senate of 100. Of course they can do tis because they have a lively ,functioning State and county system.
There might be a case for a revamped Senate where ,say , each county would return 2 senators ...where both could not be members of the same party/group.
The role of the Senate in active policymaking would need to be looked at .
But again , do we really need two houses of legislators and if so , how would they relate to each other ?
I have neither the time or the know-how to work out a new system of political representation or legislative assembly for Ireland . I 'd be surprised however if a small panel of experts could not come up with a number of options and present them for perusal in around 6/12 months ....together with suggested mechanisms for choosing among them.
I would like to encourage some broad changes like - more women in politics , more young people , more plebiscites ,
It must be possible for a still reasonably **geneous population of less than 5m to design for itself a structure that answers to the needs of its component groups without too much acrimony.

A roof blew off an apartment block in Carrickmines this morning. A metaphor for our governments cover being blown open after all the years of waste.

Vubiant your thread title says it all really, we are at the moment in a state of paralysis--- caught in the headlights as it were of a car called recession.

for the moment i wouldnt change much, but i would like to see these hard decisions that they keep talking about being actually made. they have been talking about making hard decisions since before summer yet nothing has been done.

what i want is action, stop the waste, cut our costs bring in accountability for both politicions, county councils and civil servants and bring us some value for money.

at the moment our house is on fire and the govt are wondering should they call 999 or 112 ----- in the morning.