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THE SCHEME OF a bill that will massively increase the number of eligible voters in Seanad elections has been published.
Environment Minister Phil Hogan today published for consultation the General Scheme of a Bill to reform how the six university senators are elected.
The bill plans to create one constituency of six senators and expand voting rights to other universities and higher education institutions.
It is estimated that up to 800,000 people would be entitled to register under the planned reforms.
When the Seanad constituencies were established in 1937, the National University of Ireland had 9,000 constituents and Trinity College had 3,400. At the 2011 Seanad elections there were some 151,000 voters on the combined registers for the two university constituencies.
Hogan said that the expansion is overdue.
“Implementation of this constitutional provision could have been done at any point since 1979.
The Government is now taking action to implement the will of the people.
“The approach being adopted is for a broad definition of institutions of higher education to be applied in order to include universities, institutes of technology, other higher education institutions and private colleges.”
The scheme is now being circulated to members of the Seanad and forwarded to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht for consideration.
The deadline for receipt of written submissions is Friday, April 11. Submissions or queries on the draft legislation can be addressed to:
Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2014’,
Franchise Section,
Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government,
Custom House,
Dublin 1.
Submissions can also be emailed to franchise@environ.ie.
Since when is Paul o’grady running apple
Is devotion to Apple products and services a new form of consumer religion?
Yes anthony the cult of apple is a scary one
Apple products are poorly designed because they become obsolete so quickly.
Or very cleverly designed as you have to upgrade every two years. Consumer electronics are not built to last, no matter who designs them.
The designs are great, it’s the price that’s poor. I would not mind having to regularly update if the prices were reasonable.
Consumer durability is an important aspect of good and environmentally sound design.
You don’t upgrade Apple products. You replace the product and the previous product becomes quickly disabled and unusable event by firmware and OS upgrades.
Apples uses cheap labour which works in appalling conditions.
Apple products look nice though.
My six year old still functioning perfectly MacBook Pro would beg to differ
My 10 month old bandjaxed 5th generation iPod Touch would beg to agree.
Apple laptops are superb but their phones aren’t….. They are made in difference places
“You don’t upgrade Apple products. You replace the product and the previous product becomes quickly disabled and unusable event by firmware and OS upgrades.”
You could easily get 3-5 years out of an iPhone if you wanted. Apple (and good developers) provide support as best they can for older versions of iOS.
“Apples uses cheap labour which works in appalling conditions.”
Several other companies (Samsung, Playstation to name a few) also use Foxconn to manufacture their products, yet there isn’t any mention about them. (source: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2492795/it-careers/foxconn-builds-products-for-many-vendors–but-its-mud-sticks-to-apple.html)
Apple products are very well made and reliable and therefore tend to last longer, but unlike all the android phones from specific manufacturers Apple offer free easy to install upgrades. Android updates are only available for phones running the standard version. If you have a HTC or whatever you have to wait for the company specific one. There is something like 5% of phones running the latest android versus something like 60% running iOS 8.
The new versions have new features that need more oomph so will run slow on older phones but you do not have to upgrade.
Yes, they are way overpriced, yes they are locked down (which adds to reliability) and annoyingly the battery isn’t removeable and there are no external ports or microsd slots but I don’t agree one bit they are designed for obsolescence. (and yes I like apple products).
As would my 6 year old MacBook Pro, iphone 4 and 160gb iPod classic .I was really annoyed they discontinued the iPod classic. I like listening to lots of music. I don’t need apps and crap battery life on my music device
Watch what IOS 8 does to previous versions of iPads and IPods!
Upgrade the IOS at your peril.
Another Troll here!!
I use android for everything, except music. You really can’t beat the iPod classic.
@Bunny: Apple products are reliable because they are so basic. I was in PC world looking at the specs on desktops last week and came up with that I think is a spiffing analogy. Say you want to cut something and you have the choice between an Apple Scissors and Bosche Electric Saw. The Apple Scissors (iScissors) is stylish but most of all it dosnt break. Its super reliable. It always cuts therefore its really well made and well designed product. The electric saw can cut more things, faster and has more functions. Its not necessarily built better than the iScissors, it just have many more parts and features. The iScissors has very few features so it gives off the illusion of being better built (less moving parts). Now the iScissors has a cult following and people will pay €1999.99 for a pair. while the saw retails at €599.99 .
Apple products are sort of like this. They are marketed at people who dont really understand what they are buying. They are paying through the nose for a product that is so basic it breaks less because there are less parts to it. I cant understand how money is so irrelevant for some people that they will buy iMacs and iPhones. Can I have some money? I have a great pair of iScissors for sale. Never break, cuts almost anything.
They produce hugh amounts of waste and untold damage to the environment all in the name of profit.
@Joseph
Not according to Greenpeace (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/11070662/Apple-leads-the-way-on-reducing-environmental-harm.html)
i don’t know where to begin with pointing out how flawed that “logic” is…..
@David Apple like all other multinationals do an absolute minimum to reduce their carbon footprint because it gets in the way of profit. Their “leading the way” is pure self interest, pure PR. What makes Apple so successful is everything they do is planned down to the last detail.
@francis fakeman. Can you please explain what you think can be done on an android that can’t be done on iOS exactly? As for macs, they are meant to be excellent (ie unmatched) in some areas which is why they are loved by their owners.
They have less parts so break less often. Surely this is a good think. Good design means less parts and therefore more reliable.
As for “they are bought by people who don’t know what they are buying”, you couldn’t be further from the truth, with me anyway. I’ve had XDA’s ruining windows CE, HTCs and Samsungs running android, blackberrys etc. I also have 29 years in IT under my belt with windows from 3.0, os/2, NT clustered environments , AIX on RS6000/SPs. You don’t think I understand what I am buying. You are wrong and I am happy with the functionality AND the reliability.
Ill informed, dumb comment. Check your facts first
Wrong, wrong and again wrong. Check your facts
What comment? What facts? Stupid comment.
Don’t need it ,don’t buy it.
I’m sure it will prove very fruitful…..
It gives me the pip.
Apple needs to find new areas of business to survive, their products are over priced and are no longer the cutting edge innovative technology they were.They have almost cult status amongst its consumers but they know that it is only a matter of time before people cop on to the great rip off.
I heard similar arguments 5 years ago
Apple will eventually be surpassed but it’s not going be an overnight collapse. Like sony’s dominence of personal music players or microsofts dominace of pc’s, eventually it will be gradually eclipsed by changing tech and trends. Probably a good few years off yet.
Microsoft still dominate PCs. What are you on about ?
They do and sony still make a walkman mp3 player, but how many people have either in there house now. Microsoft used to be the world’s most valuable tech company and sony used to innovate, like releasing the first lithium ion battery. Apple wont disappear when they stop releasing innovative products but they will get overtaken eventually by other tech companies just like microsoft was by apple and google.
Joseph, new apple stuff, heard of the apple watch ?
Brian thats because not as many people buy pc’s anymore. Imacs still sell bucketloads
I have to accept one thing and this is genuine admiration. I admire the brand loyalty of Aplle fans and how they remain devoted to the Apple ecosystem. Fair dues. Total respect.
It’s the ecosystem that’s the real product Anthony. The gadgets are just interfaces.
Q. For all you IT people. Does the Netflix app on a Samsung Smart TV actually work for anyone in the UK? I’m having to plug an Apple TV into the back of mine. Loads of conversations on various Samsung support forums talk about tricking your Samsung into thinking it’s in the US and getting US content but the Apple TV just works.
My wife decided a few cars ago that she’s just going to drive Volkswagen Golfs. Good enough and she’s other things to spend her time and money on. Every time her car comes up for renewal she just hands one back and gets the next one, and every five years or so the car journalists confirms her loyalty by giving the Golf Car of he Year. That might annoy motoring purists but she’s happy enough.
have your say