@CJ Stewart: I feel a bit sorry for you CJ. You’re a grown man going on like this.

@Mark Kelly: You forgot to mention how huge multi national corporations are paying next to no tax on their profits. You also forgot to mention that so many people are on social welfare payments, because the Government and Unions sit back and let big businesses pay their workers the bare minimum. That doesn’t sound like a country veering to the left in my opinion.

@Sim0n: ..No on the contrary…I’m not the one who spends all day, tonight and tomorrow posting garbage, over and over…Open your door, get some fresh air..whoever you are..bit hard with you trolls to identify if it’s man woman or beast… perhaps the latter..

@CJ Stewart: I post on Sinn féin articles that I don’t believe their pre-election hyperpopulism is deliverable. You write poems about me apparently. Take a step back CJ. Seriously.

@james dimaggio: we have the second highest minimum wage in the EU. Behind Luxembourg which doesn’t really count cos it has a similar population to County Cork

@Mark Kelly: The Catholic church are still running our public education system along with much of our health system and you’re asking for evidence of how the country is right wing, really?

@Mark Kelly: Get a grip man. we are socially left but economically right of centre. If we were already left we wouldn’t be looking at and listening to the panic stricken FG/FF’rs crapping themselves at SF’rs slightly more left of centre policies. You don’t hear FG/FF saying they wont talk to PBP and socialists to form a government, yet those same socialists would tell you they are more left and radical than SF.

@Paddy J: Feck off – now you want us to think Leo and M.Martin are really socialists like Bertie Ahern. did you have a straight face when typing that?

@Mark Kelly: excellent. Well written

@james dimaggio: Irelands corporation tax receipts are literally at record levels – and this doesn’t include PRSI contributions every business pays for each one of their full-time employees. I agree though – our welfare system is too generous and too many people choose welfare over work.

@Rochelle: That’s pretty poor evidence we’re right wing. By any standard – and I mean ANY STANDARD, anywhere – we’re left wing.

@richiecranium: With the largest cost of living, so when the FG socialists tell us everyone is working – they don’t for how much or the cost to survive. They don’t tell us either how we have such big numbers of working poor.

So while many might have Jobs – the stats around those same working people have to still sign on to claim family income supplement, just to survive and stay of the streets with the growing homeless. Now that FG/FF socialism for ye!

@richiecranium: It doesn’t matter how high the minimum wage is, if people still have to depend on social welfare to survive. Your comparison doesn’t stack up!

@Angela McCarthy: In what sense is Ireland – with the most progressive income tax system in Europe (you can fact-check that one) economically right-wing?

@Angela McCarthy: We don’t have the highest cost of living in Europe though do we? You can’t just make things up

@Mark Kelly: So can I take it from your comment you’re homophobic and anti choice?
I’m glad to live in a country that looks after the less well off, offers state pensions and health care to those that can’t afford private health.
I do think child benefit should not be universal and no state money should go to private fee paying schools.
Have you ever thought of moving to a country like the USA I think you’d probably be much happier with the way they don’t look after their citizens.

@Mark Kelly: Bang on, couldn’t agree more.

@Mark Kelly: The great unwashed have been promised utopia and by God they’ll do everything they can to get it. Life is hard, too hard for millions receiving welfare of some description every week.

We have a housing disaster that the previous and any future government should do better with, the health system is a lot more complicated, even Sinn Fein sums would struggle to fix it, magic beans and all. FG have certainly made a sharp pivot to the left under varadkar, but not many acknowledge / understand the numerous positive things such as our progressive tax, full employment, education to bachelors level for free (grant covers contributions and you get it back at the end), if you want to be educated and work for a good wage, each and every citizen can, some find it easier to just vote SF.

@Mark Kelly: Hopefully this comment won’t be removed, but I was wondering from your comment are you anti gay and anti choice?
I’m actually happy to live in a country that looks after the less well off, provides old age pensions and health care to those that can’t afford to finance it through private means. I think Childrens allowance should not be universal and private fee paying schools shouldn’t get any state money and the top 1% should be paying way more than 21%. My religious controlled education must have had some affect on my social conscious, I’ve no religion but I’m a bit Christian!!

@Tjamr: “So can I take it from your comment you’re homophobic and anti choice?”

Huh???

@Angela McCarthy: Leo and Micheal are most certainly socialists in all but name. We live in an upside down world in Ireland when it comes to politics. The main so called “left” party is really an ultra nationalist right wing party with authoritarian fascist tendancies and the “hard” left want to abolish the property tax. You couldn’t make it up.

@Mark Kelly: Greater Dublin Area (10,130 km2) – Population ~1.9m
- Co. Dublin (922 km2) – Population ~1.3m
Average house price = ~ €388,000
Greater London Area (1,569 km²) – Population ~8.9m
Average house price = ~ £290,000
Greater Manchester Area (1,276 km²) – Population ~2.8m
Average house price = ~ £203,000

Above is a simple comparison between our largest urban area and the two largest cities of our nearest neighbour, these figures clearly dispel your naïve assertion that our housing crisis is merely a result of population migrating from the countryside into urban areas. Rather what we should be able to interpret is that the inflated prices we are paying in this country are not due to an unmanageable influx of people but rather an inadequate supply of housing to that population. This is as a result of a restriction in the supply of residential units as a consequence of public policy over a period of population growth in our Urban Centre.

The laws of supply and demand would dictate that were policy decisions made that would incentivise the delivery of residential units to meet the increased demand in the market we would have a much more stable housing market that would better serve the people who inhabit this island. We have plenty of space and a population of an extremely manageable size compared to many of our counterparts, the idea that the current restrictions of the housing market are just the way things have to be is nonsense.

@Tjamr: Im pro-gay marriage and pro-choice. My point is I find it absolutely baffling when I look at the comments sections here and see this country CONSTANTLY referred to as right-wing when by every barometer going, we’re one of the most left leaning countries in the world.

I can provide all these facts to prove the above but its usually met with hysterical nonsense.

All this “vote Left!” rhetoric! What other way os there to vote?? Every party here – by all international standards – is a different version of left.

I feel like I’m living in a parallel universe of something.

@Mark Kelly: blah blah blah blah yawn

@Dave Stewart: You’ve had enough of experts, right? :)

@Sim0n: No it’s not, it’s just a bit of a rant .
Most people in this country are glad that their elderly parents get a state pension and parents are glad they can avail of state subsided health care for their children. I fact I’d go so far as to say most people aren’t as mean spirited as the sentiment in the comment.
But then most people aren’t too concerned by the tax rate of the top 1%

@Mark Kelly: that’s the most self serving neo-liberal horse 5hite I’ve read in a long long time

@Mark Kelly: “I feel like everyone’s gone mad. By any standards we are already living in a left leaning country:
– first country to legalise gay marriage by popular vote
– legalised abortion”
Maybe it’s your terminology, but usually people who refer to same sex marriage as “gay marriage” aren’t big fans of the idea. Also your comment in general comes across as a right wing rant, but maybe I misunderstood.

@Mark Kelly: You forgot to mentions that many of the people in receipt of the social welfare are old age pensioners getting the state pension that they worked all their lives for to which you will have the same entitlement to when you retire. You also failed to divide up the numbers on how many of the welfare recipients are full time family carers that work for their payment taking full time care of a family member. You also didn’t divide up the people in receipt of disability benefit or those who work getting Family Income Supplement or those on illness benefit as they are ill or were injured at work. You also failed to mention those who are on the transition year from retiring to receiving their pension. You didn’t mention either all the people laid off work during the recession that were to maybe old to get another job or to young to retire. And then you get your jobless number when you take all that into account the child benefit was introduced many years ago and it would take a brave person to take that away from families.

@Mark Kelly: Same bunch of trolls and lefty shinner types who cant not but indulge in national pastime of whinging. What you said made sense.

@Mark Kelly: i think you are conflating the many issues a lot of people have into being left wing/ right wing and it doesn’t really matter – the issue are the issues – it doesn;t matter if you mother needs to access hospital if she is left wing or right wing – she still needs to spend days a on trolley because we have a broken system – the last govt was FG ( who would be to the right ) with supply and confidence by FF ( centre but to the right ) and so thats why the labels about being more ‘right’ are most likely coming from – but these labels are meaningless and you synopsis of the country ignores a lot of the squeezed middle – we pay high taxes in ireland ( deflecting with arguments about how progressive are meaningless – we are paying high taxes including the temporary USC – we pay much higher mortgage rates than rest of europe – our public services are bursting and need reform , health housing criminal justice transport all need to be reformed and made fit for purpose for 21st century and ask anybody trying to run a small or medium business at the very very high levels of rents , insurances , rates to councils and you will figure out that left and right ideology is down the list with brexit in the 1% of concerns – you are missing why the voters are so angry – it is because the squeeze for a decade has been relentless for many – people earning good (ish ) money cannot afford to meet rents and save to get a property – so i wouldn’t worry about the left right labels too much Mark – the voters want change – the fact that the change looks like a shift from right to left is actually a by product of the situation facing the country – the hundreds of thousands of voters last week should be seen an indicator to the mood of the people. The establishment now need to figure out how to respond . Worrying about what label the solutions are -left or right – is not really important to be honest.

@Mark Kelly: FF and FG are certainly to the left of the Democats in the US and even to the left of Bernie Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist.

@Dave Hammond: “the voters want change” more like some voters want change.

FF/FG combined received 53.5% of the popular vote in 2011, 49.8% in 2016 and 43.1% now in 2020.

On that trend and if they go into government again now the next election will probably see them well below 40% combined and a new party, probably Sinn Fein, into government.

The problem for Ireland there is no other decent alternative option following the demise of Labour and Social Democrats not getting off the ground and too many independents. The Greens are just a side show.

Sinn Fein are not the answer, they will only destroy any of the good that is in Ireland’s economy with the irony being it will damage part of what currently pays the way for a large section of their constituents.

@Paddy J: Bang on there

@Mark Kelly: believing homosexuals and women deserve rights means you’re left wing, cheers for that.

@Mark Kelly: ask some one from Italy /Spain /Portugal living in Dublin or cork or any other city or town on how unemployment benefits work in there home countries,they are amazed on generous the Irish government is .In there home countries you don’t work you don’t eat how much socialist can the free state become .the clue is the name of country

@Sim0n: I see why the 26 county state is the free state .

@Mark Kelly: oh its FG in green now

@Sean Fahey: housing? Homelessness ? health system? Rent costs? Childcare costs? Nothing left to live on?
Ohh I get ur logic, it’s the fault of the people on SW, not the people who have been paid the highest polititions wage in Europe to run our country to a acceptable standard… it’s all them ones on the doles fault.? Ooops but u said full employment? So u must mean the pensioners or the disabled on SW do u ?
Nice to know ur ok Jack.

@Mark Kelly: brilliant

@Mark Kelly: great comment mark

@Mark Kelly: ‘whopping’?. Standard rate of income tax in UK is 25%

@Dave Hammond: great comment!

@Sean Fahey: disappointing outlook Sean…your view ignores the complexities of different lives and circumstances…I wouldn’t agree that everyone has the same opportunity for education and a good wage. And to assume some people take the easy path and vote Sinn Fein may make you appear narrow minded.

@Mark Kelly: Of course corporation tax receipts are at record levels. Because they pay workers so badly, it’s only common sense that their profits are through the roof. Record profits = Record tax receipts. Go figure.

@Tjamr: “I do think child benefit should not be universal and no state money should be paid to private fee paying schools”

Of course you do. You just want the wealthy to pay taxes and receive nothing in return.

Begrudgery at is best, but I guess that’s at the the heart of far left politics.

@Mark Kelly: stop telling the truth.

@james dimaggio: these same companies pay billions into the irish economy every year. When they move away we’ll see the state the countrys left in.

@Mark Kelly: These 2 points surprised me!

“- the top 1% of earners pay a whopping 21% of total income tax intake – up from 19% in 2015
- the bottom 1 million workers pay no tax”

Any further reading for me please?

@Pól Ó Duibhir: https://www.businessworld.ie/financial-news/-The-top-1-of-earners-pay-21-of-total-income-tax–29519.html

@Tony Lyons: depreciated people’s new cars overnight with the misguided new motor tax bands in 2008 for a start
Hiked up the price of ALL fuels with the stroke of a pen.
Insisted the best way forward was in a diesel. Arf arf

Remember Gormley ?

@John Hartigan: fully agree. If the Greens get any part of government they will tax us to death. Remember it was they who introduced the pointless carbon taxes.

@Quentin Moriarty: dead right, I have a perfect 2.7 litre car sitting idle in a yard thanks to the green bástárds. They knocked €25,000 of the value of it overnight.

@Beyond Belief: So just vote for any candidate that the Shinners put forward regardless of their experience or knowledge of politics ???That’ll really work well won’t it? the only scenario that the Shinners can hope to be in Government is with FF or FG and not with some consortium made up from the left.

@Bass demon: but FG have categorically ruled that out and FF have – in flimsy terms – also ruled that out. Neither FF nor FG want a coalition with each other which leaves the only credible option of SF leading the government. Even still, the only way for that to happen would be for either FF or FG to vote McDonald in as Taoiseach or for them to abstain, which is still a tacit vote for McDonald. SF have said they are open for talks with everyone, so the ball is really and truly in FFG’s court. No matter what way you swing it, FFG is going to come out of this even worse off than calling for another election. It’s all about damage-limitation for them now.

@Beyond Belief: Not a fan of FF/FG but not sure SF putting in extra candidates would make much difference. Any extra candidates they get in would more likely be at the expense of small left parties who would then lose their seats and FF/FG would keep same voters so we would still end up with same problems.

@Sarah Green: It’s about managing the number of candidates in the right area. For example I’m in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and the SF nominee never got a look in due to this area covering working class and Foxrock, Dalkey and Killing etc. If the same nominee was a running mate of Mary Lou he might get elected (1 extra seat and so on)? Another election will yield similar results unless the use of nominees to gain additional TD’s for a party is strategically managed. The likelihood is the block of voter’s who gave FFG a preference will do so again so where SF had a surplus they need to run a 2nd candidate next time.

Taking seats from PBP/Social Democrats won’t really change the status quo.

@Daniel Kelly: Killiney lol!

@The Risen: do you ever go out

@Beyond Belief: let them throw in a few people with no political leanings to get numbers. Sorted

@Angela McCarthy: the greens have gone into govt before,so it more likely that they would be prepared to do so again, the hard left never had any intention of sacrificing their purity as parties of protest .

@padr4: The hard left? The arrogance of FFG two conservative parties that think they have a god given right to govern. Well these two parties have governed since the foundation of this state. Look where that has got us. Democracy according to FFG.