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Sinn Féin candidate Dessie Ellis celebrated with supporters by singing Come Out Ye Black and Tans at the RDS count centre in Dublin today. Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

As it happened: Tallies show Sinn Féin surge as Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire becomes first TD elected to the 33rd Dáil

Votes are being counted all over the country.

THE BOXES ARE open and we’ll have updates all day. 

Here’s the latest on the count: 

It’s Órla Ryan here, by the way. Thanks for joining us, we’ll keep you up to date with all the latest election news today.

ipsos Ipsos MRBI Ipsos MRBI

According to the exit poll, the rest of the parties’ support is as follows:

  • Independents: 11%
  • Green Party :8%
  • Labour Party :5%
  • Social Democrats: 3%
  • Solidarity/People-Before-Profit: 3%
  • Aontú: 2%
  • Others: 2%

Ipsos MRBI interviewed 5,376 people at 259 count centres across Ireland immediately after they voted.

The exit poll doesn’t predict the turnout, however, which can have a significant effect on the final vote – as was the case in the European elections.

Turnout in this general election already appears to be high – with many local media organisations reporting a turnout between 50-60% in the final few hours.

Sinn Féin is the most popular party in every age group up to 65, according to the exit poll.

When people were asked which topic was most important to them when deciding how to vote yesterday, most said health, housing/homelessness and the pension age.

Just 1% of people said Brexit – an area Fine Gael focused on during its campaign.

issues Ipsos / MRBI Ipsos / MRBI / MRBI

Here’s how the parties’ support varied over the course of the campaign, according to Ipsos MRBI opinion polls: 

ipsos campaig Ipsos MRBI Ipsos MRBI

The poll indicates the country now has three, not two, main parties after decades of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dominating the Irish political landscape.

The results also highlight how much support for Sinn Féin has grown in recent years.

However, the party only ran 42 candidates in the general election and 80 seats are needed to form a government.

Pearse Doherty, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson, is expected to be reelected in Donegal.

Last night he shared this photo of him and party colleague Matt Carthy celebrating Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin being elected to Dáil Éireann in 1997, stating: “It’s been an extraordinary journey since.”

 

There has been much talk about turnout and whether or not holding the vote on a Saturday would affect it.

But many factors can impact turnout. RTÉ News reported low turnout earlier in the day at Malin Head polling station was put down to the fact there was a dinner dance in the area on Friday night.

That’s fair enough really.

Ballot boxes will open around the country at 9am.

As we wait for counting to commence, my colleague Sean Murray has compiled a handy guide of when we’re likely to start hearing results and seeing this kind of action:

TheJournal.ie / YouTube

battles

To get you all fired up ahead of the count, here is a look at some of the biggest battlegrounds to keep an eye on as results start to come in.

Some big names, including ministers, are in danger of losing their seats, as Rónán Duffy, Céimin Burke and Nicky Ryan explain.

Heather Humphreys just told Morning Ireland she’s “very happy that Leo Varadkar will continue to lead the Fine Gael party”. 

The Taoiseach performed “very well” in the TV debates, the Cavan-Monaghan FG candidate and jobs minister said.

When people who took part in an exit poll were asked which topic was most important to them when deciding how to vote yesterday, most said health and housing/homelessness.

Just 1% of people said Brexit – an area Fine Gael focused on during its campaign.

Asked if she thought it was a mistake by party strategists to focus on Brexit, Humphreys said: “No, I don’t because at the end of the day we have told people the facts and we have told them the truth.

“We have had a difficult campaign because after nine years of government people want to see something different.”

Our News Editor Daragh Brophy has been taking a look at what the likely results will mean for government formation talks. 

Short answer: It means they’re going to be difficult. 

Slightly longer answer: It means they’re going to be very, very difficult indeed and we could end up having another election. 

Read the piece here

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The RDS, a little earlier this morning…

general-election-ireland-2020 PA PA

We’re off. 

Scenes like this are being replicated across the country. 

 

Given the surge in support for Sinn Féin, some people believe the party’s decision to not run more than 42 candidates was a missed opportunity.

When asked on Newstalk Breakfast if the party was disappointed about the situation, Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson and Dublin Mid-West candidate, said: “I think anybody who uses the word Sinn Féin and disappointed this morning isn’t reading what I’m reading.

“There was a huge appetite for change on the doors throughout the last two or three weeks of the campaign and a significant number of voters, young people but also people of other ages, who are deeply dissatisfied with the failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the last four years, with issues like health, housing childcare and transport.”

Ó Broin said if the exit poll results – which placed Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin all on 22% – are borne out in the actual results, this will show that people are “mobilised for change” and want to see “an end to the two-party system”.

“We’re not going to know what the final shakedown of seats is until we see the counts later on today. And certainly from our point of view we fought a very positive campaign, a very pro-change policy campaign, and we’re quite satisfied with the results,” Ó Broin said.

An update on the RDS puddle. 

This was the scene close to the Dublin Bay South boxes earlier… 

Our reporter Cónal Thomas says it’s now been cleaned up.

And, don’t worry, it’s not the encroaching Dodder… It was just a small hole in the roof.

Some very early tallies are in and Sinn Féin will be happy so far.

Independent candidate Peter Casey ran in both Donegal and Dublin West, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s constituency, and is looking for some help getting tallies from Dublin.

He must be basing himself in Donegal for the count.

The latest from Dublin Bay South: 

Our Editor Sinéad O’Carroll is at RTÉ HQ and has sent on the following information from from the Ipsos MRBI exit poll.

Six in 10 people who voted for Sinn Féin said party was more important than candidate, similar to those who voted for the Green Party (65%) and the Labour Party (63%), but higher than Fine Gael (44%) and Fianna Fáil (40%).

candidate or party Ipsos MRBI Ipsos MRBI

cand or p 2 Ipsos MRBI Ipsos MRBI

party leader Ipsos MRBI Ipsos MRBI

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Some more early tallies:

Unsurprisingly, the exit poll shows that Sinn Féin voters are most in favour of referendums on Irish unity in the next five years, followed closely by Solidarity-People Before Profit (80%) and Aontú (80%) – the latter of course founded by former SF TD Peadar Tóibín.

unity2 Ipsos MRBI Ipsos MRBI

unity1 Ipsos MRBI Ipsos MRBI

The Healy-Rae brothers are looking to retain their seats in Kerry.

Danny Healy-Rae polling well at Gneeveguilla NS in Co Kerry, in an area where supporters were asked to give their number one to him and number two to Michael Healy-Rae.

The political dynasty splits the constituency up into areas where people give Danny #1 and Michael #2, and vice versa – a tactic used to great effect in 2016.

download Facebook Facebook

This must have been such a beautiful moment:

If you’re as into wolves as the above (definitely real) man, have a listen to this:


Ireland 2029 / SoundCloud

If you spot any interesting election news or want to share photos from count centres around the country, email orla@thejournal.ie or tweet @orlaryan. 

Sinn Féin’s director of elections Pearse Doherty has said his party will sit down with all parties and independents to discuss forming a government.

“The view from Sinn Féin is clearly that the best outcome of this election, is a government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael and the worst outcome would be where we have been, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil,” he said.

“There are smaller parties, there are independents that we can see the support that they will get, there’s no doubt that they will have a number of TDs elected.

“So we will be discussing with all parties and independents about whether we can form a government, that is based on fairness, that is based on the type of programme that we put forward and that’s what we promised the people before the election, that is what we will deliver after the election.”

Doherty refused to be drawn on how many seats Sinn Féin would win, but said he was proud of his party’s campaign.

“We have excellent candidates, and I haven’t even heard what the reaction here in Donegal is at this stage,” he told PA. 

“In the next number of hours will have a better indication in relation to where Sinn Féin stands in terms of seats and look some of these are going to come down, as we see in every election, some of them come down to the last twists and turns in terms of elimination, but that’s the way the polls go.

“I am very proud of all the 42 candidates who stood for us and thousands of people who campaigned for us.

“The other thing is Mary Lou has run a fantastic campaign, and she’s somebody who gets where ordinary people are, often I think that’s the difference from other political parties.”

Things are not looking great for Transport Minister Shane Ross, but it’s still early days…

image-1-162-310x415 Locations of power outages. ESB / Powercheck ESB / Powercheck / Powercheck

Speaking of Ciara, thousands of properties are without power after stormy conditions and gusts of up to 130km/h hit the country overnight.

A nationwide Status Orange alert kicked in at 5am as Met Éireann warned of extremely windy and wet weather.

Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly is looking as though he will come out on top in Dublin West, ahead of outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Things are also looking good for Sinn Féin in Cork South Central, with Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire currently out-polling Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and outgoing Tánasite Simon Coveney.

Good news for people counting in Galway West – it looks as though the blackout at the country centre was just temporary and normal service has resumed.

Google Trends has compiled stats on the most searched-for party and party leader in Ireland in the last week – Sinn Féin and Mary Lou McDonald came out on top.

Sinn Féin was by far the party people engaged with most on social media over the course of the campaign, according to data from CrowdTangle.

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Could the Sinn Féin surge be even bigger than predicted? 

The unexpected theme tune of the campaign has made another appearance.

As you may recall, Come Out Ye Black And Tans topped the Irish and UK iTunes charts in the wake of controversy over the planned commemorations event for the Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan Police (which was later cancelled amid much criticism).

If you want a breakdown of the controversy, we covered it in a previous episode of The Explainer.


The Explainer / SoundCloud

As expected, Mary Lou McDonald is set to top the poll in Dublin Central, followed by finance minister Paschal Donohoe.

The latest from the Dublin Bay South battleground:

Our News Editor Daragh Brophy has been taking a look at the situation in Clare, where there’s an interesting picture of FF’s support emerging in the tallies: 

The boxes have  been opened around the country, and while we’re still a long way off from having a candidate deemed elected, a number of interesting talking points have emerged from the tallies so far. 

In the constituency of Clare, for instance, the Fianna Fáil mayor who first put the government’s planned commemoration of the RIC on the agenda appears to be in the lead – slightly ahead even of his higher profile party colleague Timmy Dooley, a long-serving front-bench spokesperson until last year’s Votegate controversy

Cathal Crowe, the mayor of Clare, was the first politician to say he would boycott the planned commemoration back in early January. 

Others soon followed suit, and the controversy over the planned event dominated the news agenda for a number of days the week before the election was called. 

Two days later the planned commemoration for those who served in the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police was cancelled by Fine Gael justice minister Charlie Flanagan. 

Flanagan said that he was committed to “proceeding with an alternative commemoration in the months ahead” after the backlash to the event caught the government unawares. 

According to a canvass piece from the Irish Times earlier this week, Crowe’s stance on the issue was going down well with local voters. 

Some updates from Dublin West and Cork South Central, where Sinn Féin candidates are currently out-polling Leo Varadkar, Micheál Martin and Simon Coveney.

Here are some shots of the action at the RDS count centre in Dublin:

general-election-ireland-2020 Counting has begun all over the country, including at the RDS in Dublin. Niall Carson / PA Wire/PA Images Niall Carson / PA Wire/PA Images / PA Wire/PA Images

general-election-ireland-2020 A #1 vote for Sinn Féinleader Mary Lou McDonald. Niall Carson / PA Wire/PA Images Niall Carson / PA Wire/PA Images / PA Wire/PA Images

general-election-ireland-2020 Counting has begun all over the country, including at the RDS in Dublin. Niall Carson / PA Wire/PA Images Niall Carson / PA Wire/PA Images / PA Wire/PA Images

I’m going to hand over the liveblog to my colleague Hayley Halpin for now, thanks for staying with us so far.

Hello! Hayley Halpin here, I’ll be keeping you up to date with all the latest count day news for the next while. 

Update on Dublin West: 

The final tallies indicate Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly is set to take the first seat in Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s constituency – Dublin West. 

The final tally shows Donnelly at 28% while Varadkar is at 20%.

Sinn Féin’s Dessie Ellis is storming in the lead in Dublin North West with 44.36%. 

Here’s a breakdown of the full tally:

In Waterford, the Final tally has David Cullinane from Sinn Féin on 38 of first preferences. 

In non-election news, Met Éireann has just issued a Status Yellow snow and ice nationwide. 

It will kick in at midnight tonight and will remain valid until midnight tomorrow. 

The forecaster has also updated its wind warning for Ireland. A Status Yellow wind warning is now in place nationwide and will remain in place until midday tomorrow. 

The first tallies from Cork South Central show Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh O Laoghaire topping the poll on 24.8%.

Second is Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin and third is Simon Coveney from Fine Gael, who is only marginally in front of Fianna Fáil finance spokesman Michael McGrath by less than 1%.

The first count result is expected at around 3.30pm.

Full tally is in for Dublin Rathdown.

Transport Minister Shane Ross has brought in just 8.3%. 

100% of boxes have been tallied in Dublin Bay South. 

Green Party’s Eamon Ryan, Fine Gael’s Eoghan Murphy and Sinn Féin’s Chris Andrews look set to take seats. 

As things currently stand, it looks like Fianna Fáil’s Jim O’Callaghan could nab the final seat. 

Our reporter Cónal Thomas is down at the RDS this afternoon: 

Our reporter Cónal Thomas is down at the RDS this afternoon. 

From leaky roofs, to choruses of ‘Black and Tans’, he’s provided an analysis of how the morning at the count centre has panned out. 

It’s looking good for independent Christy Burke in Dublin Central, benefitting heavily from Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald’s surplus.

In the past hour, Sinn Féin’s Aengus O Snodaigh, who is expected to top the poll in Dublin South Central, arrived at the RDS to cheering crowds.

Asked why he thought Sinn Féin is doing so well in the General Election, he said:

“Genuine hard work, and we also listen to the people and we’ve come up with solutions, and the solutions were put before the people and they’ve spoken right across the country.

That can be seen by the number of new Sinn Féin TDs, as well as the existing ones, who are going to be elected and we will set out that programme in the future government.”

general-election-ireland-2020 Sinn Féin's Aengus O Snodaigh arrives as ballot papers are counted at the RDS in Dublin Niall Carson Niall Carson

“It’s quite a historic election I think, there’s a seismic shift,” Social Democrat co-leader Catherine Murphy tells RTÉ. 

“We felt on the doors that people were saying Sinn Féin as opposed to the candidate, it was very much a brand, so you knew that there was a wind in their sails at that stage and that’s how it’s transpiring.” 

She added that she’s “delighted” with the people who came out to vote for the Social Democrats. 

Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has said he was surprised by the early tally indications that he has topped the poll in Cork South Central ahead of Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Coveney.

“Yes I was surprised, that is the truthful answer, we weren’t expecting a vote like this,” he tells Press Association. 

“It’s a very competitive constituency, there are some very very big political names in it, and I think it is a significant statement in Cork obviously but across the board that we have managed to register this kind of vote in a constituency that has the Tanaiste, the leader of Fianna Fail and the Fianna Fail finance spokesperson. It was never going to be easy but we have got a massive vote here it looks like.”

Asked if the party regrets not running a second candidate in the constituency, Ó Laoghaire responded: “You have to make decisions on the basis of evidence and there was no evidence to support us running a second candidate … we could not possibly have expected that there would be scope to run a second candidate on the basis of previous elections.”

That’s all from myself, Hayley Halpin, for now. 

My colleague Órla Ryan will be taking you through the next few hours. 

Thanks Hayley.

We’ve another update from Cónal Thomas who has spoken to Christy Burke – the independent councillor is still in the running to win a seat in Dublin Central.

It’s the 10th time he has tried to win a Dáil seat.

Our reporter Conor McCrave is at the count centre in Louth and there is more good news for Sinn Féin in Gerry Adams’ former constituency.

It is a difficult day for some people in Fine Gael, government chief whip Seán Kyne is in danger of losing his seat in Galway West-Mayo South.

And Noel Rock also looks set to lose his seat in Dublin North-West.

Things are currently not looking as good as hoped for the Greens:

leo-varadkar-758a5806 File photo of Leo Varadkar Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

With first full tallies coming through from many constituencies, it looks as if Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin will not top the polls in their respective constituencies, with both being overtaken by Sinn Féin candidates.

As Assistant News Editor Laura Byrne writes: “In Dublin, Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly is predicted to top the poll in Dublin West, knocking Varadkar into second place, with the first of the full tallies reported there.

“Varadkar had topped the poll there in 2016, ahead of Fianna Fáil’s Jack Chambers.

“Today’s tally figures show a very different picture, with Donnelly taking a whopping 28% of votes tallied, with the Taoiseach well behind him on 20%.

“Donnelly, a Sinn Féin councillor, failed to take seats in 2011 and 2016, taking 6.11% and 14.38%, respectively.

“If these figures bear out, he would be well over the quota of 8,475, taking 11,838 votes, while Varadkar would be just shy of the required number, taking 8,321 votes.

“Former Tánaiste Joan Burton would lose her seat, trailing with just 4% of the votes under this tally.

“Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is also suffering a similar fate in Cork South Central, where Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire is expected to top the poll, taking 24.8% of votes tallied.”

Keelin Shanley’s RTÉ colleagues have been paying tribute to her since her untimely death at the age of 51 yesterday.

Jon Williams, managing director at RTÉ News, posted the below photo of her desk on Twitter.

Shanley’s colleagues have also paid tribute to her at various points during their TV and radio coverage of the election count, an event she would typically be involved in herself.

“If Keelin was still with us she’d be here today and she’d be in the thick of it and she’d be loving every last minute of it,” Rachael English said. She described Shenley as intelligent, honest, and a “wonderful, warm, funny colleague”.

Our Noteworthy colleague Maria Delaney has the final tallies from Laois-Offaly and Carlow-Kilkenny.

The tally isn’t complete yet but Sinn Féin’s John Brady is topping the poll so far in Wicklow, followed by Fine Gael’s Simon Harris.

It’s not looking great for Fianna Fáil in the constituency – both Stephen Donnelly and Pat Casey are currently polling lower than Jennifer Whitmore of the Social Democrats (the party Donnelly left to join Fianna Fáil).

My colleague Michelle Hennessy has been taking a look at some final tallies. They indicate the following results for Sinn Féin candidates:

  • Dublin South Central – Aengus Ó Snodaigh: 38%
  • Dublin Central – Mary Lou McDonald: 36%
  • Limerick County – Séighin Ó Ceallaigh: 15%
  • Dublin Rathdown – Sorcha Nic Cormaic: 11.1%
  • Mayo – Rose Conway-Walsh: 23%
  • Dublin South West – Sean Crowe: 29.6%
  • Meath East – Darren O’Rourke: 24%
  • Dún Laoghaire – Shane O’Brien: 10%
  • Wexford – Johnny Mythen: 24.5%
  • Laois-Offaly – Brian Stanley: 23.8%
  • Limerick City – Maurice Quinlivan: 23%

This just in from Conor McCrave in Louth: 

Gino Kenny, People Before Profit TD for Dublin Mid-West, has all but conceded but said his activism won’t stop.

Fianna Fáil *may* be open to talking to Sinn Féin after all.

John McGuinness told RTÉ News: “We have to talk to every party and none. We have to put aside our differences with Sinn Féin and Fine Gael. We have to take the generational message.”

His FF colleague Marc MacSharry also appeared to leave the door open to talks.

The latest from Louth.

Sinn Féin’s Seán Crowe has spoken about his decision to run for re-election in Dublin South West after receiving cancer treatment.

Crowe topped the poll in 2002 and is on course to do the same this time around.

Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly – who looks set to top the poll in Dublin West, ahead of outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar – said he is thrilled after getting a “massive” vote.

“We are talking to people, they heard the message that we were trying to sell in terms of housing and health, in terms of finance and managing the economy.

“People want something different, they told me time and time again they look at Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and they see the same. They have experienced the same and they don’t believe the manifestos they were seeing.

“They were telling me that if they were so genuine in terms of what they want to implement they have had 100 years.

“Why don’t they just do it, why are they coming and telling us now that they will do it in the next government?

“They have had their chance and they are saying it is now Sinn Fein’s chance to get in there and really make a change and a difference to them.

“They looked at our policies and they said we like them, they connect with us, they will make our lives different and that is why they came out in such large numbers to vote for Sinn Fein,” he told PA. 

The tallies indicate Sinn Féin could come out on top. Of course, tallies are not the same as results, but the numbers are striking. 

Here is how things are looking in Galway West, where my colleague Céimin Burke is based today.

Patricia Ryan, the Sinn Féin candidate who looks set to top the poll in Kildare South, has responded to criticism about her taking a holiday during the general election campaign

“I didn’t do anything illegal, I was only on a holiday,” she told RTÉ.

So. Many. Ballot. Papers. 

general-election-ireland-2020 A member of the count staff at the Nemo Rangers GAA Club in Cork. Yui Mok / PA Wire/PA Images Yui Mok / PA Wire/PA Images / PA Wire/PA Images

general-election-ireland-2020 A member of the count staff at the Phibblestown Community Centre in Dublin places a ballot paper into the slot for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Liam McBurney / PA Wire/PA Images Liam McBurney / PA Wire/PA Images / PA Wire/PA Images

general-election-ireland-2020 Count staff sort ballot papers for the constituency of Dublin West at the Phibblestown Community Centre. Liam McBurney / PA Wire/PA Images Liam McBurney / PA Wire/PA Images / PA Wire/PA Images

brexit File photo of Gerry Adams. Brian Lawless / PA Wire/PA Images Brian Lawless / PA Wire/PA Images / PA Wire/PA Images

Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said his party would prefer a government which did not include Fianna Fail or Fine Gael.

He said: “There has been a realignment of politics across this island. This is one big step-change.”

Adams stepped down as leader in 2018.

He told RTÉ he had been confident Sinn Féin would hold its seats in the Dail but had not foreseen the extent of its success as indicated by the exit poll and early count tallies.

“It is not about who gets the most votes, it is what you do with it.

“It is how you use your political strength that you have for the benefit of everyone, not just the people that voted for you.”

6499 Labour budget File photo of Joan Burton and Brendan Howlin. Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

It’s not been a great day for Labour so far, who got 4.6% support in the Ipsos MRBI exit poll.

Former Tánaiste Joan Burton looks set to be one of the most high profile candidates to lose a seat. 

The final tally in Dublin West shows Burton, a former leader of the party, with a first preference share of just 5%.

Current leader Brendan Howlin polled about 12% in the final tally in Wexford, behind Sinn Féin’s Johnny Mythen on 24%.

Arriving at the RDS count centre in Dublin, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “Obviously this election was all about change. Sinn Fáin went to the people and we convinced them in very, very large numbers that we are the alternative, that we are the vehicle for change.

“We asked people to give us a chance to deliver the platform that we have set out and that platform is about solving the housing crisis, it is about getting to grips with the crisis in our health services, it is about giving families and workers a break and breathing space so that ordinary people begin to experience this economic recovery that they have heard so much about.”

general-election-ireland-2020 Micheál Martin voting with his family in Cork yesterday. Yui Mok / PA Images Yui Mok / PA Images / PA Images

Arriving at the Cork South Central count where Sinn Féin is expected to top the poll, Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin said:

“I want to first of all thank the voters of Cork South Central because it seems from the tallies that we will win two seats here, in or around 35% of the vote, which given everything which has happened today is a very very solid performance from myself and Michael McGrath.

“We will obviously listen. The people have spoken and there is no greater democrat than I, but that said we will not preempt the outcome itself because it’s very clear to us that the destination of the final seats in many constituencies cannot be called now.”

download Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and deputy leader Michelle O'Neill speaking to reporters at Dublin's RDS count centre. Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said “the two-party system in this country is now broken” and has been “dispatched to the history books”.

Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has become the first TD elected to the 33rd Dáil, topping the poll in Cork South Central, coming in ahead of ahead of Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin.

Ó Laoghaire was elected on the first count with 14,057 votes.

As the first TD has now been elected, we’re starting a new liveblog with all the results

Thanks for staying with us for so far.

My colleague Sean Murray will keep you up to date for the evening.

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    Mute Peter O Donnell
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    Feb 9th 2020, 7:48 AM

    Of course the 65+ age group is anti SF. They want to protect the status quo while everyone younger want to see change. It’s staggering that another world wide recession is around the corner and people forget what happened in the last one. Someone mentioned how Iceland dealt with the crash, burn the bondholders. Only burning in this country is tax payers money.

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    Mute roberto Mankini
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    Feb 9th 2020, 7:56 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: not exactly….I’d really like to see a SF budget proposal that balances the books…you can make all the promises you like but nothing happens without money. Easy sound bites but tough decisions are what’s really needed.

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    Mute Peter O Donnell
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    Feb 9th 2020, 8:04 AM

    @roberto Mankini: 100% agree with you, they all lie…. What no journalist asked in the lead up was, are you willing to retire from politics if you don’t deliver your manifesto? There are too many old heads just hanging on to their seat without a vision for change. Whichever party you support surely you’d like to see change within the party too.

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    Mute Sue❤
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    Feb 9th 2020, 8:30 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: any 65+ people I know voted SF.. they want change too ..not going on the dole on retirement pushed them

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    Mute Graham Manning
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    Feb 9th 2020, 8:53 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: so no one over 65 voted SF? Does that mean Gerry voted for Renua?

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    Mute Sam Harms
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:03 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: I’m under 65 and I didn’t vote SF. Things do need to change but their policies are ridiculous and would do more damage than good.

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    Mute Gerard Lord
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:35 AM

    @Sam Harms: dont they just print money. America has 20 trillion in debt. Doesnt seem to bother it.

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    Mute Clubhouse Barman.
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:37 AM

    I’m 47 and not a hope voting SF. If you earn decent money they want to take half of it. In what world is that progressive? Why bother working hard to give it away?!
    They must have a magic wand to find all the money for the rest of their tax policies.

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:42 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: Why do the majority of people in this country bother working hard while their first world tax contributions only manages to get them third world services? Tax for the majority of people in this country was never the problem. It is how it is used (wasted) that’s the problem.

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    Mute Louise Tracey
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:43 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: look it wasn’t all over 65s that voted FF/FG. I voted for them and im 35. I just didn’t believe in what SF said they would do, I instead voted for FF & FG hoping they will make some changes. It’s my right to vote for who I believe in and that’s what I did. You believe in SF and that’s ok too.

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    Mute Derek Poutch
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:45 AM

    @Clubhouse Barman.: Problem is though lots of these rich people don’t work hard for their money. They get sweet deals thanks to corrupt politicans and then their supporters cry “ah they will all up and leave if they have to pay their proper tax”. Your fooling no one barman.

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    Mute Peter O Donnell
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:47 AM

    @Louise Tracey: if you read my comments, I’m not against any party but each party needs to make a promise to retire if they don’t deliver their manefesto. Its a joke shop cartel that just keeps going round and round. I really down care which we people vote as long as they voted.

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    Mute Clubhouse Barman.
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:09 AM

    @Derek Poutch:so what about those who do work hard? Who am I fooling? Not you obviously… you’re very smart!

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    Mute Aunties
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:11 AM

    @Clubhouse Barman.: ehhhhh Sweden

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    Mute Edward Natali
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:27 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: Voting for the same things. Hoping for a different outcome Definition of insanity right there.

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    Mute Derek Poutch
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:31 AM

    @Clubhouse Barman.: Sorry I might have took you up wrong. Most people work hard for their money whether they are on minimum wage or CEO of a business and that’s fine. I was having a go at people who are in collusion with govt in getting govt contracts and not paying their proper tax.

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    Mute Sam Harms
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:44 AM

    @Derek Poutch: “rich” people earning €140k aren’t earning that from sweet deals. They’re earning it from working to get to where they are. There are loads of sectors where that would be a normal salary, like consultants, tech workers, company directors etc. The begrudgery of people earning a lot of money from their employment is sad.

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    Mute Sean
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:01 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: if the parties are breaking their manifesto promises then they are going to break any promises in relation to retiring also.

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    Mute Brian Madden
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:02 AM

    @Clubhouse Barman.: go and look at the svandics, excellent services provided by high taxes. High taxes here but poor services.

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    Mute Nuala Mc Namara
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:06 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: According to the Sunday Business Post in January,99% of individuals have gross income that is less than €100,000& 1% of individuals have gross income that is more than €100,000.

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    Mute Derek Poutch
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:09 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: Sam please read my post again.

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    Mute Colm O'Leary
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:12 AM

    @Peter O Donnell: the over 65’s already have their pensions and it’s a case of “I’m all right Jack”. In other words. Of course they don’t want a sin feinn government because they could rock the boat, upset the apple cart Etc

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    Mute Sam Harms
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:24 AM

    @Derek Poutch: the problem with people like you is that you’re focused on the minority who might not pay the proper amount of tax or who are corrupt but the majority of “rich” people pay a hell of a lot of tax. There aren’t a huge amount of reliefs left to shelter income from tax and lots that are still around are there to encourage investment like the EII scheme.

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    Mute Caoimhín O'Cheallacháin
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:42 AM

    @Sam Harms: there is no begrudary. A government is for the people. It’s about balance. There is a reason why there is the saying ” the rich get richer and the poor stay poor”. A push to a left government for a few years would be good for the country I believe. Help those struggling for a while. There is no fear of the rich. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon.

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    Mute Thomas McKeon
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:45 AM

    @roberto Mankini: Both FF & FG have adopted a US style that makes them beholden to corporations that have 1 aim and that’s a profit margin and paying zero tax if possible. That does nothing for main st. in any town and it certainly does nothing for the regular people. Middle & Working class with more money in their pocket are going to spend it because they have to. The 1%rs don’t have to.

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    Mute Frank Cauldhame
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:55 AM

    Looks like Leo will be the first outgoing FG Taoiseach not to carry his running mate through with him since the days of Garrett Fitzgerald !

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:19 PM

    @Peter O Donnell: Not even 1 party can deliver their own manifesto in full because they have to make compromises. So how much of their manifesto has they have to deliver in your opinion to retire?

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    Mute Christopher Byrne
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:38 PM

    @Clubhouse Barman.: FF/FG already take half of it you goose…

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    Mute Brian Carroll
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:46 PM

    @David Corrigan: You’ve clearly never been to the third world

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:59 PM

    @Christopher Byrne: If you have to succumb of name calling then you are loosing the argument.

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    Mute Clubhouse Barman.
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:09 PM

    @Christopher Byrne: not at all. 57% if we believe SF promises to bleed the country dry of innovation and promote brain drain.

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    Mute Eugene Conroy
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:08 PM

    @Louise Tracey: let me get this straight, you voted FFG this time hoping that they might change thier policies to better the people who voted for them in the last 100 years. A lot of that 100 years they spent twidling thier thumbs and collecting thier large salaries. Yea louise i can see them changing this time because hope they will. Sorry but these two cheeks will never change while they have people like you voting with thier fingers crossed

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    Mute Pád
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:30 PM

    @Sam Harms: So ya want to get the status quo! Well done!

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    Mute Derek Poutch
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:35 PM

    @Peter O Donnell: The minority you speak of has cost this country billions, bank bailouts, same banks now given 20 year tax exemption. The childrens hospital, Irish water, all the govt scandals. The list is endless. Like I said I have nothing against people earning lot’s of money providing they play by the rules.
    .

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    Mute Nan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:58 PM

    @Peter O Donnell: I’m not myself and a lot of over 60, voted sf, we see how our children are suffering, ie childcare, housing,

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    Mute Laughable
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:59 PM

    @Peter O Donnell: yeah because the 65+ hold most of the wealth. I had a fierce argument with my Father last weekend when I said I was voting left. He is 77.

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    Mute Joe
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:21 PM

    @Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: f that. I worked hard to get where I am. I don’t want to give my hard earned money away to be squandered. Sorry but that’s life. I pay enough as it is!

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:57 PM

    @Sue❤: I am over 65, I would rather chew a live wasp than even consider voting for the FFG crooks

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:58 PM

    @Sam Harms: the damage has been done by FFG already

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    Mute Pádraic Ó Braonáin
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:22 PM

    @Peter O Donnell: I’m 72 years of age and I voted Sinn Fein…and so did my group of friends.

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    Mute Vote4Pedro
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:35 PM

    @Sam Harms: exactly, some people think that anyone on a decent wage are somehow crooked and need to taken down a peg through increased taxation, it’s Kinda like the bolshevik thinking about kulaks. Plus those on such a salary are paying a much bigger % of their salarys on tax.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 6:18 PM

    @Vote4Pedro: no they’re not – they’re paying the same rate as everyone else – and it kicks in at an absurdly
    Low level

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    Mute Pete Lee
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:27 AM

    Im 51…
    The one thing I notice is there never is money to alleviate the suffering or education of regular people. But there are allways endless sources for banks bailouts insurance CEOs etc.
    Why have we so many levies
    PSO
    Setanta Quinn
    Pmpa etc etc

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    Mute Pete Lee
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:29 AM

    @Pete Lee: Thats why, i think, SF did well people want to see the other side of the coin…despite the past…
    I do believe that in the main they are more honest…
    I wouldnt believe FG for the weather

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:34 PM

    @Pete Lee: The country was bankrupt. The ecb allowed us to put the loan on the never never till 2040 to dilute the cost at a low rate. Some hard cuts were made but in spite of being bankrupt social welfare payments continued. Lots of fdi inward investment and job creation all badly needed. Easy to talk when you were not in power to fix the problem. A good job done on the impossible “brexit”.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:38 PM

    @Damian Moylan: Pfft – nothing done to assist young people With housing problems, high taxation, water, health services, public sector spending, infrastructure building, transport on and on and on – ima sick of them and the lack of accountability.

    Dara Murphy Maria Bailey – crooks

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:47 PM

    @Shazam37: I paid 100k for my 1st house in holland 30 years ago on a salary of 18k per year. i agree about accountability but it was an impossible job to get out of the hole we were in.Any city in the Eu with too many people has high house prices. If you work very hard it is still possible to get on the property ladder. We need more council houses for sure but the aim must be employment employment employment because that is the only way to ensure we have the taxes needed to help out those in need.

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:52 PM

    @Shazam37: Large infrastructure projects are hugely costly and very difficult to realize for a low density population quite large country. However, this country has been transformed by motorways – very easy to forget the roads we all had to travel in the 80s. The scale and speed of building the motorways is very impressive for a small country. The country i came back to was unrecognizable. Yes, we need to continue to improve but we need to balance payments and ensure we can keep up necessary payments in social welfare etc. A very difficult thing to do….

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    Mute Brian Carroll
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:56 PM

    @Shazam37: Surely democratic elections are the very definition of accountability?

    There’s an awful lot to do on housing and health to be sure, and in my opinion FG definitely push the market-led approach too far, but the FF proposal of bringing back SSIAs seems bonkers to me. Benefits people who can afford to put money away, which many people can’t, and it will do nothing to stimulate house building in the short term.

    That said, there’s some serious fairytale economics going on in the SF manifesto.

    At least the structure of the first time buyer scheme rewards you for participating in the economy by giving you tax back.

    Whatever happens, hopefully this election will give whoever ends up in power a bit of a kick to ramp up efforts on housing and health.

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    Mute Brian Carroll
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:58 PM

    @Damian Moylan: We’re still paying for the famine 150 years on through that low population density, makes everything much more expensive. Imagine the tax base and economic efficiency if we had a country of 12 million well distributed people.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:07 PM

    @Damian Moylan: complete rubbish Damien.

    “Employment employment employment so you have taxes” – that’s only true if you insist on prioritising income tax over land and wealth tax. If you refuse to tax vulture funds for example. Billions lost there.

    There are many ways of reorganising our society and systems.

    The problem is you and the establishment think there’s only one way to do things

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:12 PM

    @Brian Carroll: Brian, we won’t be paying that back for 150 years. We already have good population growth now at nearly 5mln – 8mln would be good but will take 20 years or more.

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:14 PM

    @Shazam37: The policy on fdi and employment creation is right and working. I agree that we need to tackle vulture funds 100%.

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:18 PM

    @Shazam37: The problem is not me. I work very hard and have paid literally tons of money in tax over the years and worked for everything i have. No one gave anything to me.

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:26 PM

    @Shazam37: You said prioritize income tax. I pay 51% income tax already – is that not enough. Sure i agree that loop holes need to be closed not just for those dodging tax but also the shadow economy where some people work for cash while claiming social welfare. We should reduce taxes in what is called in holland the “Horceca” (Hotel resstaurant cafes) to 9% like they have in NL. Would be good for lots of small businesses and the workers.

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    Mute Brian Carroll
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:30 PM

    @Damian Moylan: *We have been rather than we will be. Not directly, but through the economic inefficiencies it creates. It’s why the NBP is so expensive, why we have a significantly above average amount of electricity network per head of population, etc. Not moaning about it, it’s just an unfortunate fact that makes services more difficult to deliver. High density areas will continue to subsidise low density areas.

    A push towards remote working and increased focus on developing urban centres outside Dublin will help to ease that effect, alongside planning reform

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:43 PM

    @Brian Carroll: 100% Brian. When i went to holland i was surprised to see you’re not allowed to buy land and build a house outside the town. Everyone has to live in villages (a few thousand), towns (up to 200k), or cities. Reason: councils have degree qualified spatial planners and Govrenment policy: it is not possible economically to provide services required w/o population centres (cost too high) incl. schools, doctors, clinics, hospitals, telecommunications, utilities (water elec. broadband), roads, cycling roads, sports facilities, town busses, trams. Same in Germany. That’s why i chose to live in a town (mallow) when i came to county cork. i know this philosophy doesn’t suit many people in rural ireland but the economics are undeniable.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:31 PM

    @Damian Moylan: Damian you pay to much in Income tax. None of us pay nearly enough in wealth and property tax.

    That’s the change that needs to be made. Reduce income tax increase wealth and property tax. Incentivise work. Disincentivise the commodification of land and property.

    Massive amounts of wealth have left the country thanks to Vultures. It’s done. By FG. The ship has sailed. They’re taxing ordinary workers and lowering billionaires off Scot free.

    Ultimately we must ask what’s an economy for? It’s not an end in and of itself. So that economy is going ok – that’s bugger all use to people waiting years for appointments, stuck in perpetual grid lock, or homeless.

    That’s what FFFG don’t get. They just see the economy as the be all and end all. They’re supporters are rich so that’s all that’s required.

    This shows it isn’t all that’s required.

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    Mute Mjhint
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:08 PM

    @Damian Moylan: what roads are you speaking of. What motorways? Is it the ones we pay more than once for through tolls & rd tax? Also the people who benefit most from them as in the multinationals who pay very little tax here. I think your views & values are outdated. Yes i agree every city in europe has housing issues but what does that say about the EU which is governing the richest market in the world & cant provide basics for its citizens.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:12 PM

    @Brian Carroll: Quite the contrary. Is Eoghan Murphy being “held to account” for his performance in Housing today? His constituency is the most affluent in the country. His voters to an appreciable extent not affected by Housing.

    Leo Varadkar was Min for Health and achieved nothing – is he being held to account for his time there? Or inTransport?

    What about Bertie Ahern was he “held to account” for his part in the catastrophic failure of government that bankrupted the country?

    Elections for nation representAtives are not, and never have been, about accountability.

    If you want real accountability it has to be done in real time. Like the rest of us.

    If you screw up at work and cost your company millions of they wait until your contract is up to discuss the issue? Of course not. You’re hauled in that week.

    That’s accountability.

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:16 PM

    @Shazam37: Look the motorways are fabuluous. On land speculation i agree. In rotterdam there is an “erfpacht” system. You buy the house but get a 99 year lease on the land so just a nominal charge. The purpose is to make home buying affordable in a small country with 18mln people. In my small town in holland (alphen aan den rijn 120k people) they did an expansion – 5000 homes. The council bought the land from the farmer and the council own the land. Quotes came in from various large construction companies and 3 of them did the job. i bought the property from the constriction company and the land was transferred to me at cost from the council. Result: no hoarding of land and affordable prices.

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    Mute Brian Carroll
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:43 PM

    @Shazam37: Well Eoghan Murphy isn’t going to be housing minister after yesterday’s vote and FF were voted out of government. This could be SF’s time so we’ll see how their policies stack up.

    Ireland has a low accountability culture where it’s very difficult to fire people, it’s the downside of heavy unionisation. At least democratic elections give people a say. If SF can form a government then they’ll have enough time to make changes before the electorate has its say on their efforts. If you’re calling for firing squads at dawn every time a difficult problem or crisis arises then we’ll descend into a banana republic.

    People who offer 1 line sound bite solutions to complex problems are usually either lying or they don’t grasp (or want to grasp) all of the complexities involved.

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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:44 PM

    @Shazam37: Hi Shazam & Brian, ive given ye some thumbs up, good debate and points well made to be fair.

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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:48 PM

    @Damian Moylan: Thanks Damian, healthy democracy in action

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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:52 PM

    @Damian Moylan: Denmark has a somewhat similar model that works very well. They established an arms length body a few decades ago with a once off capital seed that develops entire neighbourhoods – everything from office and apartment blocks down to street lighting and electric car chargers. Being connected to the state means they have a low cost of capital and no profit mandate beyond recovering the cost of capital to fund the next development. That’s done through those kinds of lease holds and direct rents.

    I’d love to understand a bit better how that coexists with private development.

    As much as people want the government to build houses, I suspect they’d go mad at the idea of a new semi state to do it though!

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    Feb 9th 2020, 5:03 PM

    @Brian Carroll: just did it, agree. good debate!!

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    Feb 9th 2020, 5:12 PM

    @Brian Carroll: In my “alphen aan den rijn” nl development the demographic study was done by the council spatial planner. off the back of that under public consultations (council meetings where the public may attend and ask a question) the split was agreed (a 2 year process). 5000 homes. agreex qty for categories 1) premie A homes – limited to lower incomes, restrictions on how much money the buyer can put into the house / monitored to prevent cash rich guys putting marble kitchens (example) while getting a govt subsidy on the property 2) premie B – same as premie A just a little bigger then 3) Vrij Sector (free sector) just a bit bigger than premie B – i bought one.

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    Feb 9th 2020, 5:13 PM

    @Damian Moylan: My street was all free sector. Around the corner premie B – outside houses identical just the premie B ones slightly narrower and the garden a little bit shorter but you wouldnt see the difference outside. happy to take ye there f a tour as im fluent in dutch, cheers

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    Feb 9th 2020, 5:21 PM

    @Brian Carroll: Good info the Danish model is interesting but i don’t understand it fully. If…the dutch can manage it with 18mln packed into a small place my top tip is to look how they do it…the clever dutchies :))

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    Feb 9th 2020, 5:44 PM

    @Brian Carroll: i am not a Lord and don’t own any land. I have no pension so i bought a house and rent it out. 30% under market rent as the lady who owns it has 3 teenagers and she’s a single mom so can’t afford it. She was turned down for HAP as she’s 20euro over the limit – not fair. i pay 51% tax on the rent so the govt gets a lot back. Anyhow if the Govt or Council want to buy my house just give me a call. But, then implement a pension scheme for all workers like in Holland where if you work in any job by law the employer and employee MUST contribute to a pension scheme. I am sure this would take a lot of time to implement but if the Govt did this small private landlords would disappear.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 6:23 PM

    @Damian Moylan: I did NOT say we need to
    Prioritise income tax. Actually the opposite.

    As to the motorways – depends where you’re going. But yes – and enormously funded by Europe.

    However our water infrastructure is a joke. We’re poisoning our waterways. Our public transport system is a joke. Our planning and house building policies are a joke. Our hospitals – the rotunda is the oldest functioning maternity hospital in the world.

    Infrastructure spending is actually costing us jobs and productivity. It’s a mess.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 6:31 PM

    @Brian Carroll: Eoin Murphy will be in Office. Micheal Martin was a member of the cabinet that wrecked the country and is now on with a strong shout of being Taoiseach. That is simply NOT accountability.

    John Delaney. Destroys Irish football – massive payout and sent on his way. Bertie. Fat pension. Lowry – adverse findings in a tribunal and romps home every election. Cowan. Sean Fitzpatrick. On and on and on and on.

    Unless and until people have to answer questions on failures in real time progress will be stymied.

    This attitude is the problem – “firing squads” – Christ! Do YOU face a “firing squad” when you screw up in your job? Or do you actually have to answer for your performance on a daily basis?

    The notion that an election is accountability and no other versify is necessary is a convenient lie that the Irish adore – it is the single most damaging part of the Irish Psyche – this absolute aversion to accountability.

    Oh no you can’t do that that’s “firing squads” that’s a “banana republic”. Baloney.

    There are senate and congressional inquiries in the states all the time. It’s not a banana republic.

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    Mute Damian Moylan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 6:34 PM

    @Shazam37: I agree with your points. And we urgently need a motorway between Limerick and Cork as the road is at 350% capacity. It’s been some day and well done to all the candidates and those behind the scenes who do so much work as well.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 8:08 PM

    @Damian Moylan: we urgently need proper public transport. Motorways while nice to drive exacerbate the car ownership problem we have.

    Just like FF SSIA scheme will exacerbate the problem with housing.

    We need to get away from income tax dependency, away from house ownership as the metric for sustainable successful lives and away from the car as the primary means of transport.

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    Mute Paul Cahoon
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    Feb 10th 2020, 7:47 AM

    Only so much shit I can listen too on a monday morning, having read your comment my daily limit is used.

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    Mute Madra
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    Feb 9th 2020, 7:21 AM

    Yup the Mary Lou. Bring back the Mars Delights as promised.

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    Mute SFAnkleTapper
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:40 AM

    @Madra: more like the horrible tasting liqueurs.

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    Mute Euro McPúnty
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    Feb 9th 2020, 9:57 AM

    @Madra: bye bye Leo you and Simon Harris can go and do one…

    There’ll be cheers from trollies on the a&e corridors when the final counts are completed

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    Mute Sim0n
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:08 AM

    @Euro McPúnty: If you think that SF could do what several previous governments, and hundreds of billions, have failed to then you are in for a very rude awakening.

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    Mute Sim0n
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:14 AM

    @Sim0n: That said, they should go into coalition with FF, take the health & housing ministries and prove everyone wrong/right…

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    Mute Aire Dezamba
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:33 AM

    @Madra: putting inexperienced incompetent people in charge of health is part of the problem. We need an experienced competent problem solver in health. Take a look….Harris, Varadkar, Martin, Cowan, O’Reilly ….Harney….were any of them truely capable? Is anyone now elected truely capable?

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    Mute Gary O'Brien
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:04 AM

    @Sim0n: you mean what every FF or FG government did?

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    Mute Sim0n
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:14 AM

    @Gary O’Brien: Have you difficulty reading Gary? The health ministry is known as Angola for a reason.

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    Mute Euro McPúnty
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:28 AM

    @Sim0n: maybe he does have difficulty reading, so what?

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    Mute Euro McPúnty
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:29 AM

    @Sim0n: Simon Harris is that you?

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    Mute Sim0n
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:39 PM

    @Euro McPúnty: That’s hilarious. You made a connection because of the names. Clever boy!!

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    Mute james foley
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:27 PM

    @Sim0n: hi they be looking for another Northern Bank

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    Mute Padraic O Sullivan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:24 PM

    @Euro McPúnty: donkeys in Wicklow voted Harris back in

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    Mute Colonel Grant
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:04 AM

    A convicted crook ( yes criminally convicted in court ) , Lowry , leading the tallies in Tipperary. Says more about the flawed pedigree of the Tipperary electorate.

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    Mute Fearghal O'Riain
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:07 AM

    @Colonel Grant: the man gets the job done for people there simple as

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    Mute Gary O'Brien
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:08 AM

    @Colonel Grant: sad state of affairs. On plus side, Joan Burton and Alan Kelly could be on the way out! We can only dream for now.

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    Mute Sim0n
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:12 AM

    @Colonel Grant: A convicted terrorist ( yes criminally convicted in court) Dessie Ellis, leading the tallies in Dublin North West. Says more about the flawed pedigree of the Dublin North West electorate.

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    Mute Sequoia
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:22 AM

    @Sim0n:

    I’m far from an SF/IRA supporter (didn’t vote for them at all), but most of our initial governments were made up of convicted terrorists.

    Lowery is nothing but a thief & conman.

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    Mute Colonel Grant
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:28 AM

    @Fearghal O’Riain:

    You’ve hit the nail on the head there Fearghal.

    Simple. =. Tipperary Electorate.

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    Mute Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:18 PM

    @Colonel Grant: You could characterise that as that, at a push. But look what happened to the country for the next 50 years.

    Make no mistake about it, if SF as they are now, were ever to get into power, this country will revert to the prosperity of the 50s.

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    Mute Ian Breathnach
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:15 PM

    @Sim0n: WOW, you’ve some neck calling the Dublin North West electorate “flawed pedigree”. Do you enjoy looking down your snout at people?

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:17 PM

    @Colonel Grant: No this say a lot about the Irish system. If you do a lot good for your own constituency than you wil be voted in. Even if you don’t care about the country as a whole.

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    Mute Vincent Sharpe
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:43 PM

    @Fearghal O’Riain: Question; “Is it a case where the corrupt vote for the corruptible???.

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    Mute NotMyPresident
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:21 AM

    The tallies for Sinn Féin so far are outpacing the exit poll released and #transferringleft is coming to fruition.

    Mary Lou is looking better & better. No c&s agreements if no SF coalition. Another election on the cards and SF run candidates everywhere.

    Enough of ffg, rcc & west brits.

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    Mute Jane
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:36 AM

    @NotMyPresident: FF and FG will fall over themselves to go into coalition with SF.

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    Mute Chaos Ape
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:21 PM

    @NotMyPresident:

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    Mute Connoroconner
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:10 PM

    @Jane: and vice versa

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    Mute Tom Cullen
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    Feb 9th 2020, 7:58 AM

    Due to this just being an exit pole based on first preference alone, there was a hell of a lot of protest voting from the left who didn’t put FFG on the ballot at all. Expect Greens, SD, PBP and possibly Labour to pick up a lot of 3rd and 4th seats in constituencies around the country. I feel a grand coalition of the left might well be on the cards if Mary Lou plays the cards well.

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    Mute Gary O'Brien
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:00 AM

    @Tom Cullen: it’s coming Tom, and you can bet your bottom dollar that all transfers are going left! This is it, we are finally going to see a left government. And FFG have nobody to blame but themselves.

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    Mute Joe L
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:15 AM

    SF have proved they can talk the talk with some excellent performers like Pierce Doherty, Eoin O Broin & Louise O Reilly to name just three. Maybe it’s time to see whether they can walk the walk now as well!

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    Mute Nowa Huta
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:26 AM

    @Joe L: that won’t happen FF and FG are finally going to merge FFG 2020

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    Mute Euro McPúnty
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:30 AM

    @Nowa Huta: are you not seeing what I’m seeing? SF storming.

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    Mute Edward Natali
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:35 AM

    @Nowa Huta: Down with that sort of thing! :)

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:46 PM

    @Nowa Huta: given the tallies so far, it would be extremely undemocratic to ignore what the people want. Hypothetically, if SF were to finish second seatwise, the majority party are, in my book, obliged to try and form a coalition with them.

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    Mute Euro McPúnty
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:39 PM

    Byebye Shane Ross, you propped up the wrong party for the trough

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    Mute JP
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:23 PM

    Staggering the amount of people who voted SF just for the purpose of not voting FF/FG. Change is sought after and needed, but at what cost? Sadly, a party with inextricable links to a terrorist organisation seems to be people’s best answer!

    The SF supporters turn a blind eye with regards to how affordable the party’s manifesto is – surely you need to be able to back up your plans before you tell them to the country?

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    Mute Seanboy
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:45 PM

    @JP: Manifestos are fairytales written by all the political parties if they get elected Manifestos are then used as TP for their bung holes, why should Sinn Féin be any different

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    Mute JP
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:12 PM

    @Seanboy: You are right – they are never stuck to, and are littered with false promises. The huge issue is that Sinn Fein are promising more than any other party with TWICE the amount of spend than is estimated by the department of finance. Surely that counts for something?

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    Mute Dav Nagle
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:24 PM

    @JP: that’s right we are all really stupid people where your vote for no homes and no rent freezes makes perfect sense

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    Mute JP
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:14 PM

    @Dav Nagle: Every party has building more houses in their manifesto! My point is that what they propose is not affordable and hugely deceiving to their followers. I don’t think SF voters are stupid, just misled hugely.

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:47 PM

    @JP: Nonsense. Ask the vast majority of voters about the finances involved in the various party manifestos and they won’t have an answer for you.

    It’s all rubbish. If a recession happens or the corporation tax receipts dry up FfFGs proposals are shot to hell.

    This has nothing to do with the “affordability” of the promises. Nothing whatever.

    It has to do FFFG not putting people ahead of themselves and vested interests.

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    Mute pethelhug
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    Feb 9th 2020, 7:16 AM

    Hate politics but I do like counting day!

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:46 PM

    @pethelhug: like Eurovision

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    Mute Paul Shepherd
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:55 AM

    While undoubtedly benefiting from the unpopularity of the government, I feel that Sinn Fein to a certain extent rode the populist wave sweeping across Europe. Whether this is a seismic shift from the two party system remains to be seen. We only have to look back to Clann na Poblachta or the Progressive Democrats who heralded a new dawn. Where are they now? As recently as 1992 Labour’s “Spring Tide” soon receded. In 2011, Labour won a record 37 seats, five years later they were back to 7! Even when radical or populist parties do manage to achieve power they more often than not, end up not much better than the traditional parties they replaced. Enthusiasm is soon tempered by the often difficult realities of governing and the focus shifts to how to maintain power for the next four years.

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    Mute Gary O'Brien
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:07 AM

    @Paul Shepherd: yeah but the populist waves sweeping across Europe is putting hard right parties in to government, we are swinging left for the first time in history, and its because people can see current parties who ruled the country since its inception obviously can’t (or won’t) fix the problems that matter to the electorate.

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    Mute Cupid Stunt
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:38 AM

    @Paul Shepherd: Well your entitled to your feelings and no one is looking back only forward.

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    Mute RobPup
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:13 PM

    @Paul Shepherd: do you what happens of you run a two-stroke engine without adding oil to the fuel for a while? It breaks. Think of SF as the oil. FF and then FFG have run the show anywhich way they’ve liked for a long time. And the engine is breaking badly now. The engine aren’t the 1%. It is the other 99%. No amount of senior management or members of the board or bankers are going to run the country if the 99% isn’t looked after via proper standard of living and proper services. If there is another election… I will vote SF again, believe you me.

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    Mute roberto Mankini
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    Feb 9th 2020, 8:43 AM

    Trump….BoJo……MaryLou…..3 buffoons riding the desire for change with sound bites. Thankfully it seems the Irish have more sense than to fall straight into the trap. Yanks and Brits not so clever.

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    Mute Nowa Huta
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:24 AM

    @roberto Mankini: did you travel around the United States or are you just getting your info from your social media “friends” get a grip

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    Mute Ruairi Dowdall
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:32 PM

    @roberto Mankini: Uneducated Clown

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:00 PM

    @Ruairi Dowdall: name-calling doesn’t imply that you’re educated.

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    Mute pierre roncuzzi
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:19 PM

    @roberto Mankini: just heard a pundit say people have voted for the IRA

    that salt is going to chafe your mankini

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    Mute Sirius
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:53 PM

    @roberto Mankini: please explain how Trump’s change has just been “soundbites”? That’s actually laughable.

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    Mute Sam Greene
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:12 PM

    I wish SF had ran more candidates. Some of the pundits on RTE look like they are chewing wasps when they talk about the SF vote.

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    Mute Daniel Kelly
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:34 PM

    @Sam Greene: They are all on large salaries (considering what they deliver) so probably only thinking of their own situation?

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    Mute Connoroconner
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:39 PM

    @Daniel Kelly: none of the pundits on RTE are politicians

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    Mute Joe
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:51 PM

    @Sam Greene: yeah it’s disgusting. Show the lack of education amongst the electorate that they listed to SF’s crap.
    Maybe we need them in grab coalition of the left that will probably only last 6 months and they’ll be destroyed as a result!

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    Mute John C
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:42 PM

    I disagree with the statement that 65+ have not voted in numbers for SF. I am a SF supporter and have been involved in door to door canvassing over the last few weeks. My experience was one of great support from all age groups. People wanted change and had no problem in saying so. In a lot of cases they were delighted to discuss their views at the doorstep and in a lot of cases we were the only party they had met. The other major parties only posted their campaign material and never met with the people on the doorstep. Big mistake. Hopefully now we will see change for the better in our lovely country.

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:31 PM

    Instead of pointing to SF, FFG should admit that their politics failed on some very important issues and that this is the reason for people to vote for change. It doesn’t make sense if you promise change and 7 years on it is only worse. Then you show that your incompetent.

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    Mute Charles Coughlan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:07 PM

    Not so smug now Miriam are we with your own brothers Jim’s FF seat at risk.

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    Mute cazzzzzzzzz
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:42 PM

    @Charles Coughlan: ah here… really?…. Are you held accountable for the choices and views of your siblings?

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    Mute JoyMonkey
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:25 PM

    I was thinking, who is voting for Eoghan Murphy in Dublin south. And then I realised, all the people who’s houses have doubled in value because of his complete incompetence as housing minister.

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    Mute Neil McAuley
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:00 PM

    Great to hear Regina Doherty will lose her seat. She is the most obnoxious and arrogant woman Ireland has ever produced. Brilliant stuff and well done to the people of Meath.

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 12:44 PM

    Literally every reporter in the count centre opening with “Well, the big story here is the surge in support for Sinn Fein”. 10 penny jellies to the reporter who comes up with a different way to say it!

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    Mute Cormac Laffan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:07 PM

    @Maria Hickey-Fagan:
    “The backlash against nepotism and cronyism that has blighted Irish society continues here Maria..”

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    Mute Shelly Levine
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:31 PM

    @Maria Hickey-Fagan: well the big news here is the people are giving FFG a very large middle finger.

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:50 PM

    @Shelly Levine: you and Cormac get 5 penny jellies each. Cola bottles? Gummi bears? Teeth?

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    Mute Shelly Levine
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:21 PM

    @Maria Hickey-Fagan: thanks, I bags the Gummi Bears!

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    Mute roberto Mankini
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    Feb 9th 2020, 7:31 AM

    Great – weeks of shite talk and then another confidence and supply arrangement. Only difference will be that FF are in charge. Yawn.

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    Mute cazzzzzzzzz
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:35 PM

    Regardless of political persuasion, from looking at the tallies so far, it’s looking like the number of women in the Dáil will fall. Political discourse is diminished when the voices of Mná na hEireann are absent.

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    Mute Jason
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:06 AM

    Lads check out that tweet screenshot, Eoin the tally person cannot count. 3 strikes and he’s crossing them out, Ormond FF happens twice. I could be wrong but is that en error

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    Mute Vin
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:21 PM

    Is anyone going to acknowledge that SF aren’t fielding enough candidates to actually win a majority.

    Even if every SF candidate wins they can’t lead a government they won’t have the numbers

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    Mute Mark
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:26 PM

    @Vin: No party will have a Majority….. stop it already

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    Mute Vin
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:01 PM

    @Mark: But they’re running 40 odd candidates. So their elected seats will be disproportionately low

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    Mute Laughable
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:38 PM

    @Vin: We’re heading for a 2nd election.
    I suspect a caretaker government for 6 months of FF FG SF and then we vote again.
    Maybe FF will do a U turn and we have a FF SF Green government, who knows. Interesting though, good to see young people getting out to vote in high numbers.

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    Mute Vin
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    Feb 10th 2020, 1:09 AM

    @Laughable: FF/FG arrangement lasted a lot longer than 6 months. I see the same happening again but with with Michael Martin as Taoiseach.

    If SF go into government as the smaller party they will likely lose their voter base (labour style)

    If they were smart they would bide their time for the next one and run more candidates

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    Mute ken perry
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:23 AM

    Dublin Lord Mayor 0% in Finglas Ballymun ….

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    Feb 9th 2020, 11:34 AM

    @ken perry: a mistake I’m guessing

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    Mute Combat Arena
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:25 PM

    Amazing results,

    Storm Ciara brings Wind, Rain and Lefty Populism

    https://combatarena.ie/ge2020-storm-ciara-brings-wind-rain-and-lefty-populism/

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    Mute Cupid Stunt
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    Feb 9th 2020, 1:39 PM

    @Combat Arena:… and right wing bitterness!

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    Mute Connoroconner
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:50 PM

    @Cupid Stunt: Sinn Fein are about as far left as Labour. Socialist Joe Higgings has said they’re not a left wing party, they’re a populist party. He’s probably right.

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    Mute Laughable
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:35 PM

    @Connoroconner: Their policies are centre left. So yes they are left just not extreme left. Just what Ireland needs right now.

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    Mute Tom o brien
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:33 PM

    Is Fianna fails biased rte debate chairwoman goin to resign

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    Mute Tom o brien
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:34 PM

    JIMS SISTER MIRIAM

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    Mute pierre roncuzzi
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    Feb 9th 2020, 2:14 PM

    Eoghan Harris to go full super saiyan. Now for a border poll

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    Mute Joe
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:51 PM

    Horrible result. The fools that voted for SF. Hopefully FF FG coalition to keep the economy going!
    Else a left alliance that collapses cause SF won’t agree on anything and then their vote gets destroyed!

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    Mute Shazam37
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:58 PM

    @Joe: so bitter – new day has finally come. No going back.

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    Mute Joe
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:11 PM

    @Shazam37: skangers won’t be in govt. don’t worry

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    Mute Laughable
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:32 PM

    @Joe: Hahahahaha, like the time I spent 15 hours in A&E last year for an X-ray following a car accident.
    Yes FFG have been doing a great job of it – SHEEP
    Like how FFG can’t even provide citizens with housing….. wake up.

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    Mute Mark
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:12 PM

    Frank Flannery on RTE! Christ on a bike….

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    Mute The Risen
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:46 PM

    @Mark: Brutal

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    Mute John fitzpatrick
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:58 PM

    How are people saying a seismic shift to the left? Maybe 30% left parties. That means 70% voted against the left. Also it’s scary that people that were not deemed fit to get 3 or 4 % in local elections 8 months ago are now seen as good enough to run the country.

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    Mute Laughable
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:26 PM

    @John fitzpatrick: they’re all left except FF FG and some independents. I won’t even bother add Aontu and Renua.
    Not sure how you’re coming up with your figures?

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    Mute Padraic O Sullivan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 3:42 PM

    To the people of Wicklow who voted to put a journalist drop out back in, you are a disgrace. Pox on your houses

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    Mute Tom o brien
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:04 PM

    Liberation of Ireland

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    Mute Vote4Pedro
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    Feb 9th 2020, 4:38 PM

    Is it worth looking at how private hospitals run their ship? Or maybe through a totally transparent process tender out the management of the hospitals to private companies on a decent quality and efficiency bonus structure, oh and sack all the hospital managers aswell!

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    Mute Ben Hogan
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    Feb 9th 2020, 10:56 PM

    Absolutely horrible to see SF getting so many votes. I don’t see how anyone in their right mind could vote for them. Couldn’t enjoy my day looking at those animals winning votes.

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