Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
ALMOST ONE IN TWO people in Ireland has a friend who emigrated in the past five years, according to a new survey by Sponge It.
The ‘State of the Nation’ survey found that 48 per cent said they have a friend who emigrated since 2007, while 39 per cent have an extended relative who emigrated.
Half of those who answered the survey said they think Ireland will be out of a recession by 2016. Overall, more than half said they would describe Ireland as ‘corrupt’.
One third of survey respondent said they feel confident about their job security, compared with 45 per cent who feel unsure about future employment. Meanwhile, nine out of ten unemployed people said they feel unsure about their future employment.
Four out of ten people said that unemployment and the lack of job prospects are serious threats to their future health and happiness. Half said that they have none of their income leftover at the end of the month.
Asked how they would spend any Lotto winnings, the number one response was to use the money to take care of family members, while paying off mortgages and personal loans came in second. Travelling the world was the third-most popular choice for spending the windfall.
Digital research company Sponge It interviewed 872 people online between 20 June and 10 July 2012 for their survey. People register with Sponge It to participate in surveys and are paid in ‘sponge it’ points which can be redeemed on a range of rewards from home appliances to holiday vouchers.
Hard to blame him with FF going back to the Cowen era for their bi-election candidate. No wonder they stuck at 17%.
Who are the 17% of people with serious lapses in their memories?
People that are FF party diehard supporters. They do exist, after all.
Everybody wants change so change who you normally vote for stop voting ff fg lb or god forbid the greens, remember they have all been part of the reasons the country is on its knees
Clearly not everyone; if that was the case, FG/FF support would have collapsed by now.
@Richard, who is there left to vote for?
Whilst admiring the energy of the young ( remember what being 26 was like) not sure though that we should be electing TD’s with little of life/ commercial experience to draw on. Surely we are just creating another ‘Enda Kenny’ Syndrome of clueless, careerist, political numpties in years to come no offense meant, but we do have the evidence scattered in front of us.
Poached him? Any chance that they would spit roast the rest? Spit roast in the culinary sense obviously. The other alternative would be too extreme for our stomachs.
“Defacation” nach ea? A thiarna ach níl siad in ann fiú litriú i gceart!
So @aidankelly,everyone at YFG meetings tells you they are voting for FG?.Did it occur to you that they might be a little biased?
How is it any different to judging dissatisfaction with the government by looking at the water protests? Obviously anyone protesting against the government isn’t happy with the government!
My elderly parents don’t go out protesting at this government as they’re not physically able to go ..They will do their protesting at the ballot box,though :)
You have to give it to aidan Kelly he gives us our Daly laugh ‘s spouting his Daly crap about FG.
Aidan
I am not so sure that all protesters are not happy with the government. Yes there are genuine people who want to express their feelings and opinions but there is a lot of people that just want to protest for the sake of protesting and going out to run a muck.
you have a fantastic knack of collecting red thumbs aidan.
“a muck” what? Savage is it? That’s not nice ;-)
Why would anyone vote FF when they persist in the same old guard
Hes a former TD for a reason..the people said no.
Another FF politician who has no clue about where FF is on the political spectrum. Didn’t Bertie say FF was left wing! ReNua certainly isn’t.
Bertie declared Ireland a socialist country circa 2006. He also claimed that he won his.money on a horse and that he didn’t have a bank account while serving as Minister for Finance of this country.
Moral of the story: if Bertie Ahern told me the sky was blue, I’d look up to make sure.
Please, no more. I despise these guys already and they’re only around a wet week.
I was going to post that the by-election should serve as a dipstick for the real level of support for Lucindas new party, but I’m worried people might start associating the words ‘Lucinda’ and ‘dipstick’ with each other.
That’s where your party is heading too Spammin. SF/IRA will be lucky to cobble together 6 seats at the next election. A 7% drop in one week! You guys are done. LOL.
It could be worse I suppose. The party leader could be associated globally with the word “terrorist”.
Well Lucinda is associated with the word “religion” which is pretty much an instant vote killer for anybody with half a brain and the ability to think freely,
Aidan kelly your a stepford wife from edna.middle class boy who probably went to private school who wouldn’t know the real world.come into the working class areas of dublin no lift there no extra money in their pockets ff=fg.same failed policies.
I worked hard and now plan to make a lot of money. There’s no excuse for laziness.
How’s Kenneth this weather ,Alan ?
Does it matter that I called you Alan ?
Aiden I so enjoy people like yourself.
So full of passion for what you believe to be right and true.
So determine.
So idealistic.
SOòooo yet to meet the harsh reality of the real world.
I hope they bring him up to speed on policies before any radio interviews!
Not one vote for them or ff ,fg,labour or suffering will continue.
What a wonderful addition to their basket of rejects. Just another reason this party will not be going anywhere in the polls.
Defection of Defecation?
Very interesting development. Were Bobby Aylward to be elected there would be no Kilkenny FF vacancy on the ticket for years. SO makes some sense. Here’s one of his Local Election leaflets
http://irishelectionliterature.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/leaflet-from-patrick-mckee-fianna-fail-kilkenny-city-west-2014-local-elections/
They are (no doubt) welcome to this ambitious young man.
I remember talking to Lucinda last year at a YFG conference and she came across as intelligent, well informed and kind hearted, She could have become FG leader if she didn’t vote against our abortion bill. Sad that she’s now sucking up the dregs of FF. If the worst comes to the worst and FG only gets 78 seats at the next election (more likely 85) then we can always use some of her TDs to form a government.
Wow, a meeting of minds alright. What was that quote? Great minds think alike, but then fools seldom differ. Fitting
What’s your role in FG, Alan?
Campaign manager at Trinity College YFG
With 16 Twitter followers and a handful of fawning tweets you might want to spend more time in that role than on here then…
@Aidan: How does somebody that you’re already minded to like (you’re an FG activist) come across as “kind hearted”? Surely that was just your bias?
85 seats!? You’re living in dreamland. FG will most likely have 40-50 seats after the next election. A FG/FF/Renua coalition is the most likely government after the next GE.
Aidan – Did I read that FG voted in an “Abortion Bill” ??????
Aiden I’ll freely admit I voted Fg and Lab. I have pretty much never expected much from any government. Maybe the efford to try and keep at least one promise. Hell even the pretents would do.
But this present coalition have out done themselves. Never again will I. Give a single preference to either. FG have lost all the ethics they had under Gareth. And labour has lost the balls to stand up to them.
Funny that, cos I asked the young blueshirts on their FB page if they’d ever heard of you and they said no.
Oh Eoin, they have such short memories then…according to Aidan he spent ALL day yesterday with them…at a YFG conference…ALL day, sure he didnt get home until after 8 o clock lastnight!!
Aidan,
If she gets elected she will be the Irish version of Thacher
Aidan is far too enthusiastic to be real. And quite obnoxiously arrogant too. Has to be a shinner bot pretending to be a blueshirt bot – is any other explanation believable?
A bot within a bot within a bot. Watching inception recently by any chance?
Aidan has no one told you that the best way to stop someone listening to you is to tell them that they are wrong and the best way to communicate is from listening?
To be in politics you have to be sly, cunning and pretend to care, you could end up reducing your red thumbs if you say something like I respect your view but my belief is… etc etc, little things like that Aidan?
That is Enda lol.
Renua.. me arse
Pat McKee’s family are Sinn Fein. Rumour has it he tried to get Sinn Fein nomination from By-election candidate Kathleen Funchion and now has joined Renua. As an openly gay man in a party with Christian Right Wing social policies is this a bit of a paradox? He was hugely involved with Yes Kilkenny marriage equality group as a cynical vote getting exercise? Think this guy is very confused to say the least.
He seems to be an opportunist. Certainly with his courting of SF prior to this leap to Renua, polar opposites and as you say a strange home for an openly gay man. Has probably killed his career stone dead which may be no bad thing if his idealism is tempered by what’s politically suitable for him at the time.
Defiantly going from the frying pan into the fire, going to get roasted in time to come.
Or from a sewer to a septic tank?
Have Fianna Fail teamed up with the Looney Left. Heard Sean Fleming on the radio this morning. Couldn’t believe my ears. What he seemed to be saying – Fianna Fail will introduce a bill to make it illegal for landlords or local authorities to give the names of tenants to Irish Water. If I heard right then a landlord or local authority will end up paying the bill. Like all “we won’t pay” – TV licence, motor tax etc the tax paying public will end up footing the bill.
Some conversion, on the road to Laois / Offaly, from a man who was treasurer of Fianna Fail during the heyday of the Galway tent.
Bandwagon job he’s not worth thinking about
So he joined FF and now he has joined Renua. Ok….I trust that guy’s judgment.
Strikes me as odd that the new party is Renua while Denis O Briens new stores are Re.store. Re…… seems to be popular in Ireland at the moment.
Yes, Mary! ‘Renege, Repress” – and at the next election, ‘Reap’ :)
Reposess – a very popular word
MM needs to go to make room for the new generation of Fianna Fáil politicians.
Not much room needed there.
Thought he was going to be good candidate. Thought it was strange he steeped a side for bobby without a fight. Whiff of old school politics off this , bobbys old Fianna Fáil dynasty so he has first dibs
Sinking ships and all that…
Yep, jump ship as FF is goin’ down. Renua is Re-new-a Fianna Fail!! SSDD…
Renua is the ultra conservative FG lite. Not anywhere near FF.
have your say