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THE GREEN PARTY’S candidate has said that “sending a message” to government in the Dublin Bay South by-election “won’t build any homes” or allow for a fair recovery from Covid-19.
Parties have been engaging in the final stages of campaigning ahead of Thursday’s vote to fill the seat vacated by Fine Gael’s Eoghan Murphy.
Much of the debate has focused on whether a government TD would or a member of the opposition will be elected.
Speaking today, Labour’s candidate Ivana Bacik said the vote is a chance to “send a message” to government, even if it won’t change the coalition’s comfortable majority in the Dáil.
Speaking to The Journal last week, Fine Gael’s James Geoghegan said that he believes a government TD is in a better position “to affect change” in the Dáil.
Bacik told reporters today that the election “won’t change the government” but that she has been “sensing frustration” about the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Green Party government.
“What we can do is use it as an opportunity to send a message to government about the need for change in particular policies,” she said.
I think people do want change and we’re hearing a real appetite across the constituency for change, for the need to send a strong signal to the government on the need for change, particularly in housing but also in other public services around healthcare around childcare and elder care and around climate and community.
A constituency-specific opinion poll last week put Bacik second behind Geoghegan in polling but there have been suggestions that she may be the favourite for the seat.
Bacik did not agree that she was favourite but said that she’s “certainly in with a strong chance”.
Also speaking today, Green Party candidate Claire Byrne rejected the idea that people could “send a message” to the government with their vote on Thursday.
“The opposition are saying we can send a signal to a government that they’re not happy, but signals won’t build houses, signals won’t take immediate climate action, signals won’t take us out of this pandemic and towards a green recovery and safeguard our children’s future,” she said.
The Greens are in government now and we are implementing and delivering the policies that nearly every opposition member is calling for in this campaign.
Byrne cited as examples the planned construction of 300 cost rental homes in Shanganagh, Shankill.
The councillor added that her party was “making childcare more affordable, making Ireland a more equal society and working towards abolishing Direct Provision.”
Byrne’s party leader Eamon Ryan topped the poll in Dublin Bay South in last year’s general election and said today that his party will “surprise people” in the by-election.
“It’s a very good contest with loads of very good candidates, votes will go to all sorts of different places. I think we’re going to do better than people expect, people saying it’s a two-horse race, I don’t agree,” he said.
“What I sense, because I know this constituency well and I know the people, I think we’re going to surprise people, I think we’re going to do really well.”
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“sending a message to government won’t build home”, neither will the government.
@James Reardon: Comment of the day James!
@James Reardon: that headline smacks of desperation. Electing FG or FF?GRN will send a message thats alls ok, and keep on failing on housing!
@Angela McCarthy: and everything else
@James Reardon: But renting is so European and therefore de rigour. Fine Gael and their influencers have being flogging this idea for decades. Funny thing is, they love being the landlord and hate being the tenant. I wonder why?
Am I missing something? Her party is part of Government.
Neither will voting for them again, might as well try change
@Darren Carroll: Exactly Darren, FFG are only good at allowing vulture funds buy up all available property to rent back to us at exorbitant rents, why spoil a good thing, better to leave those who are struggling to buy a home . Use your vote wisely and SEND a message to government, enough is enough.
I guessing quite a lot of people may disagree with that remark at the next election.
Neither will FF or FG. They’ve had ample opportunity and refused to build homes.
Sending a message to green TDs on what their political future will look like if they continue supporting FF/FG in this government may lead to a general election and a new government that actually cares about building affordable housing.
All Claire Byrne’s party delivers is higher taxes.
Yeah because “sending a message to government” means she won’t be elected as her party is in government.
The message at the last General election was for change. What happened the FG FF hijacked the results for themselves to keep out the people’s vote and the Greens went along with it.
What’s a ‘green party’?
@The Risen: Green for
@The Risen: Green for
@The Risen: Green for cash!
@The Risen: a party in government and their defining feature is the introduction of stealth taxes, just a rough guess???
@The Risen: it’s the greed party
@The Risen:
Green as in greenlight for a coalition deal.
@The Risen: One that’s just a little bit gullible?
@The Risen: it’s a bit like a red party but it hasn’t ripened yet
Delivering what exactly? Misery maybe
Greens are they for real
Claire … get the Referendum on Housing done fast before the next looming crash!!
Housing Crisis … crises … root cause is due to a very defective Constitution which suits many vested interests. A Referendum is urgently required to put the control of this most essential requirement of housing in the hands of the citizens. The German Constitution is a good benchmark and it does not adversely impact on general property rights.
1974 Kenny Report called for a Referendum on Housing
2014 Constitutional Convention called for a Referendum on Housing
If a Referendum was held and passed we could not have had the 2008 crash.
Another crash is imminent as current house prices are artificially inflated way beyond their true value (base inputs) and the Central Bank is happily approving inflated mortgages to pay for these over valued homes.
Deliver the Referendum .. for the sake of all future kids!
https://www.change.org/p/irish-referendum-on-family-home-special-status
- viewed by 35,000.
@Neuville-Kepler62F: ‘Farmstead only homes in rural areas.’ Is part of your petition, so you want to force people to live in built up areas adding to the competition for houses. A lot of people could build on family land reducing their cost of the house by getting rid of their need to pay for a site.
@Neuville-Kepler62F: I am just curious as to how you word the question in a Housing Referendum. In your view, what constitutes suitable housing for say a family of three or six. Would we all be entitled to a house at the expense of the state? What size would these houses be? Where would they be? Could a family from say Louth be housed in Kerry. What would be done to protect the price of housing for those who already bought their homes or the market place. What qualifies / criteria do people need to fulfil to get a house. Just curious!
@Francis: The Referendum would provide for purchase of building land adjacent to urban areas (city, town, village) at agricultural rate +25%.
No purchase of 2 cars and cost of running them for the rest of your lives from ribbon and rural houses. No ribbon infrastructural costs of electricity, broadband, water, waste, school transport, street lighting … etc.
@Barrycelona:
Would we all be entitled to a house at the expense of the state? Absolutely NOT. Homes would just be affordable.
how you word the question in a Housing Referendum? German Constitution has solved it as have many other developed countries.
@Neuville-Kepler62F: Germany has one of the lowest rates of home ownership in Euroe.
Better off push the Vienna method of housing. Which works and is cost neutral very quicky
@Gary Kearney: As you say the Vienna Housing model is good and ALL income groups have access to rent the homes and can purchase them at affordable prices.
But it cannot work in Ireland because the Irish Constitution prevents acquisition of affordable land for housing, at urban peripheries (city, town, village) at agricultural prices + 25%.
A small matter of General Property rights taking precedence over the housing needs of citizens for the common good. A Referendum is needed to fix this. Then you can have any of a number of German or Vienna solutions to deliver affordable homes.
A Referendum would also prevent future Financial/Housing Crashes … Central Bank please note!
https://www.change.org/p/irish-referendum-on-family-home-special-status
But they’re not building any homes anyway.
I can’t cope with greens and captain planets. It just ends up costing us more money that we haven’t got. Electric cars? Nonsense. What about a global blackout? Geothermal heating? Who’s going to pay for it, I can’t. Ughh…..
@Anna Carr: Electric cars are not nonsense and have a cheaper TCO than ICE vehicles.
Try filling your filthy diesel from the solar panels on your roof.
Burning petrol & diesel is driving health costs of €837 per person per year every year in Dublin alone.
Think of that as you fill up with imported hydrocarbons that directly poison you & your fellow citizens with filthy exhaust gasses emitted at toddler level.
@Gavin Tobin: yes but what if there’s a blackout or a zombie apocalypse? Where are you going to charge your car and also FYI if you run out of charge on the road and have to call your breakdown assistance, you do know they appear with a filthy diesel generator full of carcinogens to spend 3 hours charging your lovely clean car AND my car runs on petrol not diesel and it’s a small city car. Have a lovely evening
@Gavin Tobin: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/05/millions-electric-cars-are-coming-what-happens-all-dead-batteries
@Bernard A Kavanagh: Nice one
@Bernard A Kavanagh: Old lithium batteries whether from cars, phones, laptops or whatever are a recyclable resource with lots of money to be made. https://youtu.be/xLr0GStrnwQ
@Anna Carr: if there is a blackout or a zombie apocalypse then the petrol pumps wont work either nor will the oil refineries which run on electricity. But luckily those with solar panels will be still able to charge EVs while those on hydrocarbons go into full mad max mode. I have tens of thousands of km drive and have never once come close to running out of battery. EV range anxiety seems to be the preserve of those who don’t actually drive EVs or know anything about them. So anyway if i did run out of charge my insurer or the AA will transport my EV to the nearest charger, no need for your mythical diesel generator. BTW every trip to the petrol station is causing health harm as you inhale naphtha, benzene and other harmful vapours…enjoy.
@Anna Carr: will you marry me
@Gavin Tobin: Does Eamon Ryan have his van on solar panels.
Dont forget it was the Greens that promoted the Diesel revolution.
@Gavin Tobin: They are partly recyclable and mining the ore is anything but green.
Doesn’t look like anything will…
Sending a message builds no homes,. Correct
Neither does the Green Party in government!!
The proof is there for all to see.
Imagine if Justin Barrett (National Party) gets more votes than Claire Byrne (Green)!! Not beyond the realms of possibility. The Government spin will be unreal!!
Greens are they for real
neither will not sending a message
Greens are they for real
Everyone of them will lie through there teeth to get voted in
Voters send messages but different politicians decipher them differently. So too do the commentariat.
Eamonn is a cabbage.
The Green Party are looking at exile again. They are a party that unfortunately antagonize people more that any.
I’d like to see a cross party committee set up to look after housing(similar to what they have done with health). I am sick and tired of opposition politicians – attacking the system at every turn, they are being paid by the taxpayer and should be working with the government to get housing right.
Just like the vaccines , supply is the solution. We need to allow the market get on with providing the houses required and stop interfering for political capital, we are at full employment in the construction industry so very little additional capacity available (and no the councils are nowhere near in a position to build houses), they would simply be taking workers from the private sector supply. First time buyers are really the forgotten in all the arguments from the opposition benches.
@MB: The market building the homes cost us billions, the builders and the banks made billuons and cost us the public billions.
Social housing like the Vienna Method of housing works and after a short time is self funding.
Trickle down economics fails and thats the fact.
The market is to make money not any other reason.
Zzzźzzzzzzzzzz
James Geoghegan’s previous job was a tobacco lobbyist.
One sure thing, after the next election the Green Party will follow the PDs and so called Labour into the dustbin of history. Baby Blueshirts.
Fake Greens… Nothing but a prop up party at this stage.
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