Jelly and Ice Cream – But It Is A Grim Party

February 14th 2012 marks a significant day in Scottish football. On that day, Rangers Football Club entered Administration, from which they would not come back. Liquidation would follow, and a new club having bought the old club’s assets (Stadium, training ground, and player roster of those willing to transfer to the new club) would begin life and request access to the Scottish football league pyramid.

Some remember these events with pain. Some with glee. And some others refuse to even recall or acknowledge them at all. However, the events of 2012 cannot be seen in isolation. The years preceding those events as well as the subsequent years go far deeper than football banter or football rivalry. They have brought the integrity of an entire league into question.

A question that still rages…

Elected To Represent Us…Right?

TDs.

Elected to represent the citizens and the interests of citizens. This is done in two ways:

• When they are creating legislation, and
• When they are negotiating on citizens behalf with different groups, businesses and organisations.

Opinions regularly differ between politicians on how to do that, i.e what is in the best interest of the people they are elected to represent. But it is usually put down to, and accepted as a difference of ideology, or just plain old political point-scoring.

But looking at the track record of citizen’s best interests being represented, all may not be quite so forthright…

Fianna Fail – Schrodinger’s Party

Great news!

Ireland has been spared the hardship of a General Election for 2019.

Imagine the torture of implementing our only democratic means; an election! That single “threat” sends shivers down the spine of every Irish citizen.

Well, that’s the message anyway. The agreed party line that’s consistently fed to the masses.

So Ireland’s democracy currently consists of Fine Gael and some Independents in Government. Fianna Fail is taken as the main opposition.

Well…sort of. Fianna Fail essentially don’t vote in the Dail. They abstain in order to keep Fine Gael in Power.

So….are they in power or in opposition? And with that, Schrodinger’s Party is born.

Precarious Workings in Pursuit of a Government Figure

On the RTE Drivetime radio programme on November 8th, (mp3 download enclosed), Philip Boucher-Hayes went into detail on the think-tank TASC’s report on how up to 20 PERCENT (!!) of Ireland’s employed workforce are in “precarious work”. (Click the link above! WELL worth a listen).

20 percent!!

“Look at our falling unemployment! It’s great!”, we are told.

But wonder why Ireland’s government don’t tackle zero hour contracts?

Question why they push for multiple Seetec schemes? Jobbridge?

TASC’s report has ripped open and confirmed a long unquestioned underbelly of fraud, manipulation and deception at the heart of our state, our government, and how our people are treated.

Economical With The Economical Truth

Oh the economy. Such pleasantries have been told about it since the Irish people were recommended to “Keep the Recovery Going” in General Election 2016.

Favourable descriptions since then have included

• Balanced Books.
• Growth.
• Recovery.
• “Surging”, even.

Such positivity. Especially given all the hardship, cuts and new taxes of the Austerity years. At last the Irish people are reaping the benefits of “the difficult decisions that had to be made”.

…Well…

Money: The Imperative Bullsh*t?

MONEY! The need of every household. Every family.

The requirement to sustain life. Services. Societies. People.

But what IS money? Is it this finite commodity, that we must all strive to earn more of? Our world revolves around it. Our societies and whole lives are slaves to it. It must be something of such extreme value that we are willing to sacrifice everything and anything in exchange for more…or some of it.

Is it f*ck!

You Can Bank on the Stress of a Bank Stress Test

On the back of EU-wide Bank Stress Test results showing two of Ireland’s “Pillar” Banks appearing up there as Europe’s ”Worst performing banks”[1] (especially if dealing with another major economic crash), there’s something a little surreal hearing the current governor of the Central Bank declaring “Irish Banks are adequately capitalised”[2].

The year was 2007. Irish Central Bank Governor of the time John Hurley declared how Irish Banks were “robust”, “solidly profitable and well-capitalised” [3]. He stated “Ireland’s Banking system remains well-placed to withstand financial shocks”, even referencing their “negligible exposure” to the tanking US sub-prime mortgage deficit.

Grow. Grow! GROW the Chicanery!

Ireland’s economy grew by 26% in 2015.

26%.

Feel it? Probably not.

This week, Ireland’s growth rate calculation has been dubbed “Leprechaun Economics”, farcical and laughable by lauded world economists.

The reason for the spike in growth has been down to the Multinational inversions (relocating intellectual property to Ireland, technically moving their HQ to a base in Ireland & other “one off events”). This, while maybe not contributing anything at all to the Ireland socially or economically, it does inject into our “official” GDP.

But Is this a once off that need not be worried about? In fact, is this even a first? And how do politicians and journalists alike use these figures anyway?

Mind The Gap!

In Ireland, significant gaps have appeared between the needs of people, and the service provided in order to cater for those needs. These gaps range from the small to the quite large, and are having a significant impact on our social society. These fissures are also continuing to spring open in new areas all the time.

But “Growth”! “Surging economy”! “Recovery”!

Words. Meaningless words when looking at the social impact, and welfare of people’s being.

Austerity – The Sinister Delusion?

Over the years, numerous viewpoints have been expressed on the merits (or otherwise) of Austerity. These viewpoints have ranged from “it is required”, to “it simply does not work”. Columnists and economists such as Paul Krugman (Here) have gone as far as to say that governments following austerity are delusional, in the thinking that it is the solution to our woes.

However, there is another aspect; an aspect sitting in plain sight; an aspect not factored in to the majority of discussions on whether austerity works or not; an aspect much more cynical, sadistic, sinister.