@Brinster:
Which one can be the most populist.
Remember SF were for water charges, then they were hammered in a Dublin west by-election by Paul Murphy, then SF tried to take over the anti water campaign.

Padraics not great on the sarcasm

@ktsiwot: “Remember SF were for water charges”

Please post a singel press release, policy doc, or speech from SF where they ‘were for water charges’

@For Connolly:

Here you go FC.

They voted for Water charges in Europe.

http://www.donegalnow.com/news/policy-change-shock-as-sinn-fein-meps-say-yes-to-water-charges/40949

You’re welcome

@Brinster: Still posting thde spoof? tut tut.

The firt line of the article should put it in perspective

“Sinn Féin has voted in favour of water charges across the EU in a European Parliament report penned by Sinn Féin MEP, Lynn Boylan, today, according to NW MEP Mariead McGuinness (FINE GAEL)”

Here’s an independent commenting on it.

https://www.facebook.com/Lukemingflanagan/posts/871407716269879?fref=nf

In response, and led by an Irish MEP, Sinn Fein’s Lynn Boylan, the Parliament compiled its own Report, a far stronger response with most of the aims of the Right2Water campaign addressed.

Included in that Report is the following clause: ‘Calls on the Member States to introduce, in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines, a pricing policy by the application of a progressive charge that safeguards people’s right to access a minimum quantity of water for living and cracks down on waste.’ That ‘progressive charge’ in Ireland is and must remain a charge taken from general taxation, with those who earn the most paying the most. It does NOT mean the introduction of a separately applied water-charge, something I would never support.”

No brinster, stop spoofing, you’re embarrassing yourself.

@For Connolly: You are misquoting the text as passed by the EP where all SF MEPs voted in favour:
It actually says:
“Calls on the Member States to introduce, in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines, a pricing policy that respects people’s right to a minimum quantity of water for living and cracks down on waste, providing for the application of a progressive charge that is proportional to the amount of water used”

How can that mean anything other than water charges based on metered readings?

Here’s the link:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2015-0294+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

I love Mary Lou, she sounds like Joan Burton

@Denito:

Now hang on a second Denito, to accuse FC of misquoting text, that is serious, you better be able to back that up.

Oh.

Oh, I see you can.

He deliberately omitted the part – “providing for the application of a progressive charge that is proportional to the amount of water used”

And I’m the one embarrassing myself For Connolly?

Caught in a lie.

@Brinster: I’ll believe an independent MEP commening on the matter before I’ll believe a rival MEP of sinn feins. I’ve posted Luke Ming flanagans comment on the matter and I’m happy to let people reading the comments section to decide for themselves.

Yes brainster he seems most suitable

Won’t Jarry appoint a successor? Like any good dictator!

Brinster, do you like the way the garda and politicians are protecting the murderer of Mary Boyle and Philip cairns! !!

@For Connolly:

Except it is not a matter of opinion. The text adopted is a matter of FACT.

Here is the ACTUAL text adopted –

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2015-0294+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

It clearly states “providing for the application of a progressive charge that is proportional to the amount of water used”.

You’re confusing “opinion” with “fact” again.

You do that a lot.

@Brinster: I’ve just given you a thumbs up Brinster- now there’s a first! But we actually agree on the hypocrisy of SF here. Of course, I also see them as hypocrites because they pose as left wing while behaving as Fianna Fail Nua- imposed austerity in the North, supported the bank guarantee, buy into the EU’s ‘fiscal space’ and only came out against water charges when the socialists (myself included) forced them to!

@Michael Bride:

I’ve a lot more respect for AAA/PBP than for the populist hypocrites and liars in SF.

They are at least consistent and have an ideology. One I disagree with but one that is genuine.

SF change their opinion with their underwear.

@Brinster: And AGAIN, here is an INDEPENDENT MEP, Luke Ming Flanagan, commenting on that clause and its application in Ireland:

“Included in that Report is the following clause: ‘Calls on the Member States to introduce, in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines, a pricing policy by the application of a progressive charge that safeguards people’s right to access a minimum quantity of water for living and cracks down on waste.’ That ‘progressive charge’ in Ireland is and must remain a charge taken from general taxation, with those who earn the most paying the most. It does NOT mean the introduction of a separately applied water-charge, something I would never support. ”

Now, the spin you’re chancing your arm with didn’t stick when tory boy Hayes tried it on RTE, so I really don’t know who you’re trying to fool.

@For Connolly:

How can a charge be “proportional to the amount of water used” without metering?

How can it be “proportional” if taken from general taxation?

Use your common sense here.

Dig up.

Sinn Féin leaflet from September 11th 2010 well ahead of every other party
https://irishelectionliterature.com/2010/09/11/brilliant-sinn-fein-anti-water-charges-leaflet/

@Brinster: Seeing as though you’re a fan of posting regional news outlets links:

http://www.sligonewsfile.com/claims-sinn-fein-support-water-charges-hammered-by-party-mep/

‘Sinn Féin’s position is clear – we are absolutely opposed to domestic water charges’

..Boylan has slammed the comments as an attempt by Fine Gael “to distract from the fact that in the parliament today they failed to vote in favour of a report which enshrines the human right to water. In fact, they were the only Irish MEPs to vote against the report. Irish MEPs who have also consistently opposed Fine Gael/Labour’s water charges voted in favour of this report highlighting Fine Gael’s dishonesty.

Sinn Féin’s position is clear – we are absolutely opposed to domestic water charges.

The wording they mention came from another political group. I did not write it and did not vote in favour of the wording in question during the committee stage and unfortunately Fine Gael have blocked all attempts to remove the wording in the plenary.”

There ya go cupcake.

Now, pray tell, if SF support water charges, why have they blocked them in the 6 counties since 2007? Why have they signed up to right2change, which includes a pledge to abolish them?

See, you can cherrypick all of the sentences you want, actions speak louder then words.

@For Connolly: Sinn Féin had the opportunity to vote against the report, including the wording about charging proportional to usage, at the plenary stage, but they chose to vote in favour of it, Lynn Boylan’s attempts at spin notwithstanding.

It is cut and dried: SF MEPS voted in favour of a report that includes a recommendation to charge for water proportional to usage i.e. water metering.

@For Connolly:

This is absolutely laughable!

Lynn Boylan – “I did not write it and did not vote in favour of the wording in question during the committee stage”

But she and SF still voted for it at the Final Stage.

You couldn’t make this up.

Laughable.

@For Connolly: Here’s the voting record for the final vote: SF MEPs all voted in favour.
http://www.votewatch.eu/en/term8-follow-up-to-the-european-citizens-initiative-right2water-motion-for-resolution-vote-envi-committee-.html

@Denito: Then they would have been voting against the ENTIRE report including the right to water. Fine gael repeatedly blocked the section brinster mentioned being removed, and then used it as a stick to beat SF with

Filth politics 101.

You’re fooling nobody lads. SF are the only party on the island with a track record of blcoking water charges, are signed up to right2water, have pledged to end water charges and have voted to do so in the Dail.

@For Connolly

Care to comment?

On the voting record? There for all to see…….

But please, tell us again how voting FOR a bill which includes the phrase ““providing for the application of a progressive charge that is proportional to the amount of water used” is somehow anti water charges.

I need a good laugh.

@Brinster: “But please, tell us again how voting FOR a bill ”

It wasn’t a bill, it was a report compiled by the parliament, which ncluded the clause you mentioned that FG repeatedly refused to allow be removed.

Cheers for once again showing that you’re too busy with your SF bashing to know the basics.

@For Connolly:

So you admit SF voted FOR the report?

@Brinster and gabby ye are like to broken records at this stage the anti sf drivel is unbelievable from ye when it was the two civil war partys that killed their own people.Also we all know there have being massive cover up by fianna geal in the mary boyle missing person case and other cases as well.Your partys sold our country off to the cheapest bidder and evicted people from their homes in the 21 st century how many suicide victims have came out of your austerity policies in order to facilitate the banking cartel how many homes have ff fg wrecked how many familys have your partys smashed in order to keep the corrupt wealthy elite in power the answer is uncountable.

Neither FG nor anyone else forced SF to vote for the final report (which included the clause on metering). If they are so implacably opposed to water meters and charges, surely they should have abstained or voted against the final report.

@Bobby Phelan: Its actually comical Bobby. Its going to be even funnier when the dail is back and SF bring their bill forward to end water charges, to see the same YFG party hacks jumping up and down howling ‘Sinn Fein support water charges…Sinn Fein support water charges’.

@Michael Bride: You are a Socialist, you wear the name of a mass murdering failed ideology with Pride ?

I find it mad that no one would dare refer to themselves as a Nazi but don’t bat an eye lid at being compared to Socialism a far greater evil that has murdered hundreds of millions of people.

The double standards is bizarre.

@Denito: “If they are so implacably opposed to water meters and charges, surely they should have abstained or voted against the final report.”

If they are so implacably FO water charges, why are they moving a bill to end them when the Dail returns? Why have they blocked them in the 6 counties since 2007?

See denito? You have your sentence which FG wouldn’t allow be removed from the report, whereas we have everything SF have done and are doing in relation to water charges.

We as a country have allowed ff fg liebour to squander 20 billon that was allocated for water since 1997.Where did the money go we should have a top of the range water system in this county.Jesus Christ its only 26 counties we have,but the money wastage here from ff fg liebour is biblical thats what happens when corrupt partys get into government .Scandalous stuff

@Bobby Phelan: Its comical to hear a shinner talk about guilt of the past of ‘civil war parties’ while conveniently forgetting the bloodied hand that the provos had in the troubles… but there you have it the sphere of delusion that surrounds the mind of an indoctrinated foot soldier. And out of curiosity to which party are you attaching me to?

@Brinster: well said !!

@For Connolly: what these fianna gealers are forgetting is they allready had 20billion to fix the water network but this isn’t about water is it,It’s about facilitating the banking cartel the 64 billon private debt that was converted to public debt an “odious debt”we should be stripping ff fg labour of all their assets and let them pay for their own cockups.Even to this day ff fg are still receiving 1.2 billion for our water infrastructure the days of gombeen paddys are disappearing fast.

@ktsiswot Sap

If Sinn Féin reps are in the habit of voting for measures which they actually oppose, then it’s hard to know what they stand for or against. Their vote in favour of water charging and metering in the EP suggests that their position on the issue is more equivocal than they make out.

@Old Gabby Johnson: ff fg are same so whats the point attaching you to any party i would say your a neo-liberal.

@Bobby Phelan: Big word for you bobby.. you’re watching too much american politics.

Where’s the “I don’t care” option?

@Deborah Behan:

As mentioned to somebody else earlier who asked the same question, I think it’s in the ‘why did you open the story then?’ section.

If luke ming said it must be true

Well done Brinster. Poor old FC does not like having his hole served to him. You can see his smugness turning to boor with every comment.

We have to pay for water

@Denito: SF supported the report while also highlighting the efforts FG blocked continuously to have the clause removed. It created a catch 22 where had SF not supported this report, which acknowledges the right to water, FG and all its little minions would have been the first to jump all over it as SF are a member of right2water

Like I said, filth politics 101 from FG.

I’m happy with Boylans explanation as supported by an independent MEP, backed by their record on actually blocking water charges.

Oh, and I look forward, when SF bring the bill to the Dail next month to abolish water charges, to the same FGHQ accounts trying to convince us all that SF support water charges.

And what a wonderful reminder that will serve to demonstrate the duplicity with which SF operate. Well done.

What you’re saying here is that we should judge Sinn Féin based on their political spin (i.e. the Lynn Boylan excuses blaming FG meanies) rather than on their voting record. I know which I find a more reliable basis on which to make an objective judgement.

@Tir I commentated because it asked for my opinion and I gave it. I don’t think Sinn Fein is a party grounded in reality.

@Deborah Behan:

Oh OK. He was me thinking your comment: “Where’s the “I don’t care” option?”, was a sign that you didn’t have an opinion. Silly me!

@Brinster: Just gave you another thumbs up- amazing how SF can bring us all together, in shared repulsion!

@TheWalkingBread: Genuine socialism hasn’t murdered anybody, that’s why people like me opposed the perversion that existed behind the Iron Curtain for decades. Do a bit more study ‘Walking’, begin with ‘USSR-Left Opposition.’ I do indeed wear the name of socialist with pride, not just because I understand the history of Stalinism and its obnoxious outgrowths, but the history of capitalism too- do you?!

i only vote to have them all thrown in prison, deplorable terrorist supporters the lot of them. subhumans

Let’s keep political leaders south of the boarder ..

@For Connolly: Why not FC?

It’s he and his ilk who set the “criteria”.

You keep your head in the sand. “good lad”

@Obi Wan: Evidence please to back up your claim. SF set their policies and vote n their leadership live on nation TV every year at their ars feis.

You got something to back up your claim?

Brendan yes of course in front of TV. Because everything that happens in front of us on television is to be believed.. and if you can’t believe the people who run SF then who can you believe? It’s like when the current leader gets elected repeatedly because no one else puts themselves forward.. i mean if its good enough for soviet russia to have a leader for thirty years then its good enough for anybody.

@For Connolly:

I don’t need to produce evidence.

It’s common knowledge.

Can you produce evidence to the contrary ???

@Obi Wan: “I don’t need to produce evidence. It’s common knowledge.”

So, no evidence.

“Can you produce evidence to the contrary ???”

You made the claim, the onus is on you to back it up, which, surprise surprise, you can’t.

@FC: my GAA club’s senior hurling manager is not actually a member of the club either, since he’s from a different parish and retains membership of his club there. But that doesn’t mean he’s not involved in what we do.

@For Connolly:

I am not in a court of law and you are not of any importance.

So no need to produce any evidence to you.

Where is the option, DON’T CARE?

Obi, of course its not a court of law, but in the interests of sensible discussion, if you make a claim, you should be able to produce the evidence to back it up if you want to be taken seriously. Otherwise whats the point in making the claim.

@will Why? They are an All-Ireland party.

For those of you sneering you might want to read some history. No major party in this state has clean hands

FFs predecessors went against the publics support for the treaty’s “stepping stone” approach to freedom, and waged a war against the lawfully constituted govt, doing so mostly over the oath, which despite being worth a civil war in 1921 was suddenly “just words” in 1932 when they’d a shot at power. The war they waged included murdering TDs and Senators inc burning their homes with kids dying inside. In 32 they took handguns with them to the Dail chamber afraid CNG wouldn’t give up power.

One of their cabinets authorised arming nationalists being attached then the Taoiseach lost his bottle and decided to blame it on two ministers after a failed attempt to cover it up.

Fahd predecessors running the govt in that same war engaged in extrajudicial summary executions, sanctioned war crimes like tying prisoners to mines and machine gunning survivors. It’s not black and white

*FGs predecessor

Well the top 3 names in that journal poll puts them in 1,2,3.SF in the north are working in a totally different jurisdiction .

@will:

Same country though. And same party.

Tír let’s have a leader of SF not connected to the IRA or the murder of a mother of ten..how’s that for true leadership. Ps that’s the mood of the country and it’s what held back SF from cleaning up at the last election gerry Adams

Schrodinger’s Provo. Any given Provo is neither a member of Sinn Fein nor a member of the IRA until one of those outcomes is observed to be embarrassing, and the waveform collapses.

@will:

Any evidence that the current SF leader is connected to Jean McConville?

He knows the “MEN” who murdered a mother of ten

@will:

I’ll ask again. Any evidence that the current SF leader is connected to Jean McConville?

What about a kangaroo court of a raped teenager !!!

@will:

Still waiting….

Still waiting….ull never wait as long as the families of the disappeared 30 years in the TÍR …

@will:

I’ll take your dancing around the question as an admission of having no evidence to support your claim and as such have just wasted your time and mine in bringing up the claim in the first place.

P.s. Could you tell me if you hold the Old IRA in the same disdain as you did the provos?

I’ve an great uncle buried in mullingar who was a member of the IRA ..

Ps.. dancing around the the truth with facts tir

@will:

“I’ve an great uncle buried in mullingar who was a member of the IRA”

Doesn’t really answer my question, does it? Do you hold the old IRA in the same disdain as the provos?

@will:

I said “dancing around the question”. The question where I asked you to provide the evidence for your suggestion that the current SF leader was connected with the death of Jean McConville. And you have repeatedly danced around my request, making it abundantly clear you have no evidence to back up your claim. Wasting time for us both.

I’ll leave it down too ur in dept surveillance

@will:

Or you could just answer the simple question:

Do you hold the old IRA in the same disdain as the provos?

@Tír Eoghain Gael:

Poor Will is scurrying off to try to figure out how he’s supposed to explain away his disdain for the Provos for their disappearing 13 people in a 30 year campaign while at the same time eulogising and saluting the Old IRA of his great-uncle’s time, which disappeared over 200 (mostly innocent) people in a 2-3 year campaign.

As opposed to the current government who have a long history of white collar crime and economy policies that have ruined the country?

Depends on who the Army Council want, I’d imagine, so the poll, and opinions are really pointless .

OK. Fred. Is that after they read all the news on nama, watch BBC spotlight, listen to secret tapes, see that government prefer helping apple get away with tax while they get taxed again in the budget. Or after the see they are not getting the promised usc cut or that their families members are once again lying on trollies. Good luck. You do realise there is whole new generation of people who are living in the future not the past.

Yes Fred, We should all ignore the past. Except for other parties, their past is open for discussion at all times. Discussing sinn feins past is partionist, political point scoring, and a direct attack on the peace process. Oh and scurrilous too. Almost forgot.

Ah Fred. Had to re read this. Have you been under a rock . Isn’t this exactly what has happened to the country. Under the previous last governments of ff, fg , labour, greens. Aren’t people still paying for that.
well as economic policies that would bankrupt and ruin the country :-)
Best laugh I had this morning.

Must say Fred . That be a great one to use in election campaign.
Do you according to Fred and his affiliated party which is either fg or ff . My bet is fg.
Want a party that MAY bankrupt and ruin the country. If yes vote sf.
Or do you want a party that Has bankrupt and ruined the country.
Then vote fg and ff.
The decision is yours.
Makes great slogan Fred.
Do you want MAY or do you want HAS.

Is the country not bankrupt and ruins already?

Fred…I say this as someone who wouldn’t vote SF, what specifics are you talking about?

Most of their policies are not much further left than FF or where Labour is in theory (tho never practice) so..centre left? You could hardly throw them in with the ULA. Because of FF stealing their clothes on some issues we’ve never had an obvious left right split but you could fit half of FF all of SF and Lab into one party easy without much policy disagreement

The only thing that makes me ball is scrapping USC but that’s also FG policy…free at point of use health care…also FF and FG policy just using diff models..just like the others they pay lip service to Senate reform knowing full well they’ll keep it as ‘backup plan’ for people who don’t make it to the Dail..higher taxes on high earners isn’t exactly a new idea, keeping banks nationalised until they pay us back seems ok to me..where’s the bankrupting?

@Fred Johnson: your partys have all ready ruined the country wakey wakey fred

@Charlie Wrex:
Very true charlie