There is something bad wrong in a state when you have to go to court to force a Govt. to honour the principle of democratic representation. Donegal is getting battered by recession, the ESRI is talking about the return of large scale emigration and instead of doing something useful and acting like adults the Fianna Fail-Green govt. has its head in the sand ostrich like hiding from the voters.
Pearse Doherty has welcomed the setting of a date for a hearing of his case against the Government over its failure to hold the Donegal South West by-election. The case has scheduled for listing on 18th October with a view to having the case heard that week subject to the court’s availability.
However Senator Doherty said the Government’s decision to fight the case has delayed the by-election even further and if they had any sense of decency they would have used the opportunity today to set a date for an election rather than a court case.
Speaking at the High Court today Senator Doherty said:
“While I welcome the setting of a date for listing and hope the case will be heard during the week of October 18th however the Government must be condemned for fighting this case which will delay the by-election even further.
“If the Government had any sense of decency it would have used the opportunity today to set a date for an election rather than a court case.
“They are attempting to defend the indefensible and the fact that they have come to the high court to defend this is an indictment on their record and a testament of their fear of facing the electorate.
“This is an arrogant excuse for a Government which is more interested in its own fate than it is in the democratic rights of the citizens of this state.
“It has continually failed the people of my constituency and has arrogantly left them under represented for more than a year at a time when a third of the workforce is unemployed, when our general hospital is facing ward closures and when some of our community hospitals are facing full closure.
“This whole episode highlights the urgent need for a reform of the system of dealing with Dáil vacancies as they arise.”
Donegal By-election
There truly is, and that problem is FF. FF are the most effective enemy of Nationalism or Republicanism in Ireland, significantly more so than Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil allows people to vote for what they feel along Nationalist/Republican lines but all they get is FG in reality. The next election should be a "hold you nose and vote for the Blue Cheeses", cause unless FF are wiped out, there will be no no left leaning and Irish Republican space in Irish politics. FF have traditionally dominated the bottom 50% of the electorate. FG will always lean towards and appeal to the Rich in Society and to those who have family ties there, FF is as ever the main enemy of Irish Nationalism, it believes that it is otherwise, but its actions prove otherwise. FG talk a nasty talk, but at least they are blunt, FF draw Republican leaning voters in to their morass, and thus neuter them.
ReplyDeleteThis whole situation is crazy. Constituencies are short of the number of representatives that they are entitled to and the government has the power to delay elections for months and months and even going into years. Pure madness.
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