Showing posts with label #FiannaFail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #FiannaFail. Show all posts

Election 2024 - The Other Important Issues

Ireland's General Election will take place on Friday November 29th, 2024. Overall, 685 candidates are running across 43 constituencies for 174 seats in the next Dail or Parliament. 

Much of the focus and discussion so far has been on what the mainstream media have dubbed 'Auction Politics' as politicians and their parties try to better each other with promises of various benefits if elected. Examples include, free university fees, child care benefits, dropping the USC charge, reducing the VAT rate on hospitality and so on. 

While many of these areas are genuinely important, the relentless competition for votes between the different party candidates means that the conversation around a few core issues (cost of living, housing, healthcare) tends to dominate the media coverage at the expense of other topics.

In this episode, we take a closer look at the three main party's manifestos to see what they have to say about some of the other important issues. Specifically, defending Ireland's democracy, our values and our freedoms, the role of the Media and Press freedom, as well as the party's positions on Foreign Policy, supporting Ukraine, plus their positions on Defense and Security.


Date of Recording: November 26th, 2024.


Portrait pictures of the leaders of Ireland's main political parties (L to R) Micheal Martin, Fianna Fail, Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein, Simon Harris, Fine Gael
The leaders of Ireland's main political parties (L to R) Micheal Martin, Fianna Fail, Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein, Simon Harris, Fine Gael

DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics discussed in this episode:

  • All of the manifestos referred to in this podcast are available on the party's websites


Audio transition: Sound Soul by Diamond_Tunes, Pixabay

#GE24, #FiannaFail, #FineGael, #SinnFein, #Defenddemocracy, #AuctionPolitics, #CriticalThinking, #ETNC, #MERICS, #RSF, #Russia, #China, #Taiwan, #Vote, #Ukraine, #ForeignPolicy, #PressFreedom, #Security, #Defence, #Defense

EU Election 2024 - Interview with Billy Kelleher (FF)

European Parliament elections take place across the EU in early June. These will be the tenth direct parliamentary elections since 1979. About 400 million voters are eligible to vote across 27 EU member states. At stake is the make-up of the next European Parliament, the direct link between Europeans and the EU's institutions and it will shape the direction of the EU over the next 5 years on issues like climate, migration, trade and defense.

Ireland is entitled to elect 14 representatives or MEPs across 3 constituencies (see below) to the 720 seat parliament. 

  • Dublin (4 seats)
  • Midlands-North-West (5 seats)
  • South (5 seats)

MEPs generally sit in political groups ranging from left to right, rather than by nationality.

My guest in this episode is Billy Kelleher (@BillyKelleherEU) of Fianna Fail who is up for re-election as an Ireland South MEP and member of the Renew Group. We discuss a range of topics including the future direction of the EU and the influence of the far right, security and trade risks posed by China, and whether Ireland is out of step with the EU on adoption of policy tools and a physical trade presence in Taiwan.

Date of Recording: May 5th, 2024.



Picture of Billy Kelleher of Fianna Fail, the 3 Ireland Constituencies for EU Elections and a Ballot Box with the EU Flag in the background
EU Election 2024 - Interview with Billy Kelleher, Fianna Fail


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • 2024 European Parliament election in Ireland - wiki


Note: In the interests of fairness, Perspectives with Neilo reached out to Ireland South electoral candidates from all the main groupings in the European Parliament. We are happy to publish interviews with all those who agreed to participate.

Image Credit: By Spleodrach - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78963601

John McGuinness TD Talks Taiwan

In this episode, I’m chatting with John McGuinness, Fianna Fail TD for Carlow-Kilkenny.

We talk about why Ireland should be building better connections with Taiwan, the One China Policy and China's influence on Irish politics, opposing party view points in his own party and how Ireland's engagement with Taiwan compares with that of other EU states.

Deputy McGuinness was first elected to the Dail (the lower house and principal chamber of the Irish Parliament) in 1997. He was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with responsibility for Trade and Commerce in 2007 and has also served as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. He is currently Chairman of the Finance Committee and also chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association.





John McGuinness TD and Ambassador Pierre Yang celebrate Taiwan's National Day, 2022
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