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THE GREEN PARTY’S Ciarán Cuffe has been elected to the European Parliament as part of a ‘green wave’ that has swept the country in the local and European elections.
While he received a lower vote share than projected by the RTÉ/TG4 exit poll, Cuffe was still comfortably elected on the 13th count.
Cuffe, a sitting Dublin City Councillor, was only offered an outside chance of ahead of the election in the four-seater constituency. He described his election being part of a “green wave sweeping Europe” and that it is driven by young people wanting change.
Christina Finn / Twitter‘We’ve seen many swings this weekend’ jokes Ireland’s newly elected MEP #ep2019 pic.twitter.com/Mmq3IhxRjr
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) May 27, 2019
Asked about Green policies following his election, Cuffe said:
We’d love to make those changes ourselves, but we’d certainly welcome if other parties want to take on the policies that we’ve been advocating for many years particularly when we have the prospect of carbon fines kicking in and people will be paying a price unless we do change our policies.
But will the Greens go into the next government? Asked about this, Cuffe said that is a question “for another day” and his hope is that “we see a move towards a more sustainable Ireland and a more sustainable Europe, and I think that can happen in a number of different ways”.
Speaking to RTÉ after the first results were released yesterday, Cuffe said: ”It is looking as though we will have a green voice in Brussels for Ireland for the first time this century.”
The Green Party will have to wait to see if Saoirse McHugh or Senator Grace O’Sullivan will be joining Cuffe in the European Parliament.
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Jesus, people have short memories.
@GRANjzT: wild.. had he not invested in oil exploration companies a few years back? Wtf is wrong with the sheeple who voted for this goon?
@GRANjzT: It’s a snowflake vote, snowflakes don’t remember what happened….
@Ryan: he inherited oil shares. And divested them as soon as he could.
@Oisín O’Connor: Don’t let the truth spoil their whining
@GRANjzT: If I remember correct they were a small junior partner in a coalition. What did you want them to do?
@GRANjzT: Ciaran Cuffe is a good, decent man. That’s why I voted for him. The Greens are the only party with an actual agenda, with actual clearly defined policies. That’s why I voted for them.
@Bryan Yelahw: Indeed, historically the junior partner is a coalition govt receives the larger negative fallout.
@James Wallace:
Wait until you will be paying for your water charges and increased Diesel and fuel charges
I believe a lot of the electorate are forgetting their last stint in leadership, I’m all for saving the planet but at what cost to the taxpayer?
@Matrix1: Then you are not for saving the planet. Environmental policies cost money
@Matrix1: so you’d prefer to save a few bob but at what cost to the planet? You actually think we can just continue without change?
@Matrix1: they’re not in leadership though, he is so far the only green MEP. And though Greens are well represented now on local councils, they don’t have tax raising powers. I don’t think the so called Green surge will translate into Dail seats. As for their last stint in power, really they were just the gimps for FF. And most of the seeds that caused the crash were planted long before the Greens got into govt in any case 10 years later I’m personally prepared to give them another shot.
@Dow Dubrov: Do you not believe the past decade has added enough austerity taxes ?
Starting to think we can’t put a price on saving the planet. Everyone from the multinational corporations to the lad on the dole needs to take a hit and even then who knows what will happen.
@EillieEs: Using the current increased revenue would be more preferred, rather than increasing taxes further.
@Matrix1: I don’t like paying taxes either but you are living in la la land if you think we can reduce the damage we are doing to the environment without taking a hit to our lifestyles.
@James Wallace: Thank god, they’re not.
@Dow Dubrov: so why is it that the small tax payer will take the blunt of the cost
@Adam Gibson:
It will always be the small taxpayer that will take the blunt because he/she has no one to pass it down to.
(Despite what socialism tells you)
@Patrick Nolan: even if the corporations and say the airlines are hit with carbon taxes, all they will do will pass them on anyway.
@Matrix1: So………low taxes beats saving the planet??
@sean o’dhubhghaill: No, the increased taxes over the past decade should go towards environmental issues and if this is a European policy, the bailout will have to be renegotiated.
But our government seem to be too meek to be able to enforce this.
@Matrix1: i voted green but just to shake up the other parties, and it worked with coveney promising a new green policy. I hate paying taxes but FG should have followed through on water charges and carbin taxes and they bottled it to a free loader society.
@Matrix1: oh, you mean i want to save the planet but only if its free?
@James Wallace: I ate too many cookies from the cookie jar but it’s not all my fault. I didn’t put the cookies In the jar in the first place and someone else forgot to close the lid. They got off scot free and I’m the one with the shi*s.
Let’s all look forward to increased carbon taxes, more expensive fuels etc. None of the extra revenue will be spent on green initiatives.
@Greg Ward: increases in the prices of coal ,petrol ,diesel,briquettes ,gas,kerosene,tyres,car oil ,gear oil etc
Lowering of emissions rates for nct
Raiding of roll charges ,parking costs etc
Expected in every budget in some form from the day they get into power .
Government running their hands
@Means of escape: raising of toll charges
Diesel will be on par with today’s peyrol prices by December
@Means of escape: yes, polluter to pay. As it should be.
@James Wallace: are you heating your house with a candle
@Means of escape: I agree there should be no tax increases on coal and briquettes: they should be just banned outright over the next few years.The price of car parking in inner cities should at least be tripled as it stands car parking is subsidised by the tax payer; & their should be congestion charges for private cars in inner city areas, in conjunction with improved public transport. And I use gas to heat my house so maybe a carbon tax on it would make me think twice about usage. But given that the plan is I would get it back in some way would soften the blow. the Green manifesto is the grant aided retro fitting of more environmentally friendly ways of heating and retaining heat in homes, leading to eventual saving for homeowners and creating thousands of long term sustainable jobs.
Nice to see someone other than FFG get in but realistically, the next government will be a coalition of FG and greens. FG will introduce carbon tax, then shaft the greens. Greens will take a hit and go down again. Just a prediction though, stranger things have happened
What green wave the media is really pushing this.
@Young Angus: ya the media should not report on what is actually happening..
@Lad: what is happening so my learned friend? What power do they have?
Are they not the crowd who once tried to tax cows for farting
@chris c: I want whatever you’re smokin’
@chris c: it’s cows burping that’s the issue and there is research being done that is believed to have a solution for this. But sure let’s just try not to do anything about anything?
@chris c: no
@Damien Hawe: Feed based on seaweed, apparently.
Let’s raise carbon taxes. Party on
@Donwon999: I’m hoping the Greens will send a stinging letter to the Emirati owners of the indoor ski slopes in Dubai to dismantle immediately and await a prompt reply
He’s going to be fairly knackered with all that cycling from Dublin to Brussels and back! He’s not going to add to his carbon footprint by indulging in air travel I take it…
@William Tallon: he usually gets the ferry
@Thomas Maher: Anything else you want to dig up from 16 years ago. Why not an EU butter mountain, wine lake, a beef tribunal. Can you not look forward instead of back?
With so many Greens elected to the EU Parliament, especially in Germany, how long before carbon taxes are forced on Ireland anyway, irrespective of Irish electorate groans?
@Thomas Maher: he can hardly be blamed for inheriting shares that he went on to sell. “Mr Cuffe, who inherited the portfolio from his mother…”I have sold the shares. But I have not yet reinvested the money. I am looking at ways to make sure that it is invested ethically.”
He has already ruled out arms manufacturers, fossil-fuel energy companies, nuclear power firms, or those associated with animal testing.
@EillieEs: thanks for the Cuffe links :-)
@EillieEs: he had them for 3 years before it came to public light and he sold them
@wattsed56: I hear you and your facts are right. But irrespective of lapsed time Thomas has a point. The Greens believe they can tax ordinary people to save the planet. I have never heard a Green speak of investment in real public transport across the whole country to take cars off the road. It may be 16 years ago but their policies are the same. Allow people who can to work remotely from home over VPN. Real deliverable for all.
@wattsed56: nope just this instance will do, green party member held shares in oil companies for 3 years
@Derek Wallace: then you should have a look at their local elections manifesto
@John Considine: Get your coat……NOW!
I am for saving the planet totally. Rising oceans is a frightful and real threat. However as humans our instinct is to survive. To so many people paying a mortgage and having a decent quality of life is survival. So if the greens think taxing us to achieve a change is the answer then have the courage to tackle the banks and Global Corporations and take the pressure of the ordinary person. As Marian Finucance asked Eamon Ryan over the weekend who pays for replacing gas and oil boilers.
We’re the greens not the party that propped up FF while they wrecked the country?
@Jerry O’Leary: Yes Jerry. And remember Mc Doughaill resignation speech on RTE. Going got tough. Adios !
@Jerry O’Leary: indeed Jerry
@Jerry O’Leary: yes, FF collapsed the value of our houses, Gormley and the Greens collapsed the value of our cars.
Start kiitting your woolysocks & jumpers!
Excellent!!
Let the sh#& comments begin!
@Mark V: you’ve got this!
Now that he’s been elected I presume the first thing he’ll focus on is converting the gravy train to one that’s more environmentally friendly…
Our Department for Climate Action granting a drilling licence to China National Offshore Oil Corporation three days after the #GreenWave election
I reckon if there was an asteroid heading for a direct Earth impact there’d be people saying “stopping asteroids is great and all but I don’t want to pay for it”.
This green wave will lead to an increase in fuel prices for the idiots out working.
@John Walsh: I manage to work without using fuel.
So people let this shower sit in the passenger seat as we paid and suffered throughout the bank crisis .now we send them into Europe .FFS. idiots
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