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FORMER TAOISEACH BERTIE Ahern has reiterated his comment that Ireland is not “mad enough” to leave the EU.
In an interview with Sky News today about his thoughts on Brexit, he said that he agrees with the UK’s chancellor Philip Hammond in aiming for the seamless border that has been between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for the last decade or so.
“I think that’s the way everybody on the island of Ireland wants it,” he said. “The difficulty is that as I’ve said time out of number, the experts in this area say that’s impossible.”
Ahern said that until this is resolved, there is no certainty on the issue – which is worrying from a business point of view, in relation to people who cross the border to work, and for tourism.
With regard to previous suggestions about a border on the Irish Sea, Ahern said:
At some stages I have said that but it’s always been very tongue-in-cheek – firstly you would have to get an agreement from all parties and I do not see unionist parties ever agreeing to that suggestion.
He said he doesn’t think there will be an easy solution to the border issue, and that he doesn’t believe Irish unity is possible at this stage either.
With regard to Ireland following the UK out of the European Union, Ahern said: “That’s not going to happen, there is no support thankfully for us to get involved in an act of insanity.”
He added: “I think I said before to you, we’re mad but we’re not that mad and we’re not going to do that now or in the future.”
Ahern said that his concerns around a hard border post-Brexit include the movement of goods, and land border checks.
“We should have been trying to get a hard position negotiated,” said Ahern of the Irish border situation post-Brexit, saying that this position should have been then put to Europe.
“There is no realistic solution that has been put forward yet,” he said, adding he is worried the issue has not been examined to the extent it requires.
That one hasn’t is a “mistake on all sides” that needs to be rectified, he said. He also said he believes there needs to be a transition period for Brexit, which may stretch to four or five years.
Hammond said today that the UK will seek a Brexit transitional deal for up to three years after Brexit takes place in 2019.
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I’d be more concerned about Leo stating his continued support for Dara Murphy who “is doing as great job” yet he spent 24 days in the Dail in one year and still gets full pay with 4300 euro monthly allowances..The scale of this arrogance in full view of the country is frightening.
It seems we must all accept when electing those to run the country we have a lot of shortcomings. It seems we are clueless. Electing these type of candidates may well seem great for our local area but it’s purely disastrous on a national level.
@Mjhint: clueless is quite kind . How FG even drums up support given the current situation with the country and the corruption amongst themselves leaves me completely perplexed . No lessons learned and you get the same same old .
Verona Murphy as far as I know was never involved in politics or community groups. I am always sceptical of people who are just handpicked by the Party because they have a high profile in another area which is Haulage in her case. My opinion is that she is only learning and would have been better starting at County Council level . Her inexperience is obvious as she keeps putting her foot in it and blaming everyone else. In other words she lost the run of herself by all the attention she received.
@Aine O Connor:
Standard practice really Aine if you ask me. Most of the moon pigs in FG have feck all experience as politicians either. It’s inheritance politics in Ireland. Enda Kenny was a school teacher ffs. Law makers, Health care professionals and Business savvy people with integrity and the people’s interest is what’s needed for a decent government. Ireland is light years from that unfortunately.
@Nollaig Elliot: WOW. The kids in that school. were very lucky that Kenny got elected.They must be blessing themselves every day.
@Nollaig Elliot: Varadkar is a health care professional. As was the minister for health before him. Both did/are doing a god awful job. Qualifications are a small part of the requirements needed to do the job of a politician. Actually caring about people and the country is the most important attribute. That is not Learned!
@Aine O Connor: Yes, vester interests. The haulage sector just want someone on the inside to push their agenda.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: vested
@Fred Coloe: ye you can have all the qualifications in the world but if you are a sociopathic money hungry hand puppet it’s not much use to us.
@Fred Coloe: qualifications are very important – however they are sod all use if you have no interest in doing the job in the first place.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: “INVESTED”
@James Keogh: or even INFESTED
@Nollaig Elliot: why the ffs? Just cos he qualified as a teacher doesn’t mean he has to spend the rest of his life as one. He was a life time in politics
FFG are a total joke ….
@Willy Mc Bride: I hope she wins the seat just to pi$$ you off.
@Chin Feeyin: No wonder the country is a complete and utter mess with an attitude like that.
@Chin Feeyin: True Blue …..
@Willy Mc Bride: of course, everyone who disagrees has to be True Blur. Of course.
@Willy Mc Bride: looks like the Shinner is doing well in Dublin Mid-West.
God help us all.
@Chin Feeyin: where’s your pon pons today chin
@David Corrigan: you seeem to have amnesia, who got us into trouble in 2008 FFand Greens, whoI got us out of trouble E Kenny & co you have a short memory , selective too
She really is channeling her inner Trump. Racist comments, a history of allegations of bullying, representative of a gas-guzzling industry. Now the Rocky comparisons
@Anne Marie Devlin: as we speak, dozens of graphic designers have just had a crack at photoshopping her head onto Rocky’s body, and simultaneously lost their breakfasts…
@Anne Marie Devlin: yes and what makes it even more galling is that people like her, Trump and Farage paint themselves as if they are somehow the victim and antiestablishment when they couldn’t be more establishment .
@Anne Marie Devlin: How could anyone with any kind of backbone allow such a weak minded mess of a person bully them is beyond me.
@jamesdecay:
No.
That was the Rocky head on her body!
@Michael Kavanagh: ha ha splendid!
@Anne Marie Devlin: Without the “gas guzzlers” you and the rest of us would starve to death. Food and everything else that humans need/want has to be delivered to shops etc. !!
A distinct smell of desperation around fg these days
Embarrassed for the video production team and all the Blueshirts patsies involved.
@The Irish Bull: you spelled pasties wrong.
Video looks like it was.put together by a 12 year old. Actually, scrap that, it was put together by a 53 year old with their first video editor!
Video unavailable
Wonder did they/she have permission to use the song?
Is she the best Wexford has to offer ??
@Declan O Toole: Mick Wallace, living in the love of the common people?
I must visit Wexford – curiosity is getting the better of me.
@Etherman: Ya it really sounds like a place worth visiting, for the politicians alone.
@Declan O Toole:
Wexford is known as the Model County because of its rich farming land, bounded on one side by the Blackstairs Mountains and on the other side by the Irish Sea with numerous sandy beaches. It is sixty miles long . Rich in Heritage , invaded by the Vikings and the Normans in the past the landscape boasts many magnificent Castles like Johnstown Castle , Abbeys like Tintern Abbey with adjacent Colclough Walled Gardens , the Hook Lighthouse, The Haunted Loftus Hall , Dunbrody Famine Ship and JF Kennedy Memorial Park. Also Vinegar Hill in Enniscorthy where the Battle of 1798 was fought to mention just a few . The County has always been a very popular holiday destination for Dublin people in particular.
@Aine O Connor: Ah yeah, but it’s no Bally b by the sea.
@Aine O Connor: Thanks Aine.
@Aine O Connor: Thanks Aine, ya the beaches like Curracloe very nice indeed.
“character assassination” kinda sounds a lot like “fake news” uttered another right wing racist bigot we all know. It’s as simple as this, you like with dogs, you get get fleas. She repeatedly made vile discussing comments based on fear mongering and propaganda from the far right, she deserved everything she got.
@Yermas House: sorry, that should have been “lie down with dogs”. Bloody autocorrect!
@Yermas House: my 2 dogs don’t have fleas! In 10 years only had one tick , it’s how you care for them, meanwhile back to Irish politics….bit like Monty Python and Fr.Ted of a mixture usually….
@Yermas House: What’s wrong with liking dogs…?
@Gus Sheridan: I would just like to apologise for my earlier comments regarding dogs. I never in anyway meant to offend, or hurt any dog lovers out there, in fact I even know and am good friends with one of them.
I also do party agree with you or our Irish politics, except rather than a mixed breed of Monty Python and Fr.Ted, I reckon they’re more of a inbred self serving lot myself.
Are we racist yet Ted?
Favourite to get in. Seems the people like the truth instead of faux outrage. The video wouldn’t have helped her though. It’s the kind of quality you’d get from an RTÉ video editor.
The thing I don’t get is what does Leo think when he goes home at night. He’s a doctor so he must be clever. Surely he must know how terrible a job him and his gimps are doing. The man living on Jupiter knows, anyone with half a brain would not believe his government is doing good. If I was making a balls of my work that badly, I wouldn’t wait for the tap, I’d just walk myself. I’d be mortified to hang around if I was that shit at work. I wonder does he ever feel like just walking?
@Nollaig Elliot: HE will never walk. To be like his kind you need to have no morals or integrity. The Irish political system attracts the worst kind of people from our society. There is no place in that system for honest hardworking people. It is as simple and as black and white as that Nollaig.
@David Corrigan: so A) are you saying there’s no honest or hardworking politicians in Ireland? and B) only in Ireland is this the case?
The journal really need to pull their comments section if this is the standard
Massive copyright infringement right there. $$$$$
Surprise, Surprise, Video not available. Solo runs only annoy people and make a nonsense of Party cohesion. Hope the his Tiger loses her stripes and her Parachute. Hope YATES backed her,
and lost all his Shirts
What’s the lorry aul one on about now?
Go on Pip Breen
Surprise, Surprise, Video not available. Solo runs only annoy people and make a nonsense of Party cohesion. Hope the Tiger loses her stripes and her Parachute. Hope YATES backed her,
and lost all his Shirts
Dope !!
Da Meeja certainly didn’t spare her or wanted to see another point of view.
Da Meeks certainly didn’t spare her or wanted to see another point of view.
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