Whither Industrial Policy? The Future of Public Institutions and Economic Development
3-6 pm, Thursday April 25th 2013 Institute of Bankers, 1 North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 Sponsored by NUI Maynooth (NIRSA/ Sociology) and UCD Geary Institute
Fianna Fail’s long march forward halted…for now? Late March/April polls
Adrian Kavanagh, 23rd March 2013 – updated 30th March, 13th April, 27th April Recent opinion polls have all pointed towards significant gains in Fianna Fail support levels, albeit to varying degrees, leaving Fianna Fail at its highest support level in opinion polls since the IMF-EU bailout in November 2010 and with some of these positioning it as…
Parliamentary privilege isn’t meant to be for this
Posted by Eoin O’Malley (12 March 2013) The ‘sort-of’ revelation on Twitter that Deputy Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan may have used his Oireachtas privilege have penalty points wiped juxtaposes nicely with the eight month sentence imposed on the former UK cabinet minister, Chris Huhne, for perverting the course of justice in a case that started from…
Losing the battle but winning the war: General Election successes for by-election losers
Originally posted on Irish Elections: Geography, Facts and Analyses:
Adrian Kavanagh, March 6th 2013 What do Tomas MacGiolla, Dick Roche, Joe Higgins, Brian Hayes and Paul Gogarty all have in common? All of these candidates lost in by-election contests – MacGiolla (Dublin West 1982), Roche (Wicklow 1995), Higgins (Dublin West 1996), Hayes (Dublin South Central 1994) and Gogarty (Dublin West…
Damn lies and statistics: How do two polls give such divergent results?
Posted by Eoin O’Malley (21 February, 2013) A poll released today by the Pro-Life Campaign seeks to ‘challenge the notion that there is broad middle ground support for abortion in Ireland.’ This polls claims to show that two-thirds of Irish people want ‘legal protection of the unborn’ and suggests that this means Irish people are…
Back to the Future?: Good news for Fianna Fail and bad news for government parties in the Spring 2013 opinion polls
Adrian Kavanagh, 27th January/8th February/16 February/23 February/2 March/16 March 2013 A series of recent Irish-Ipsos MRBI, and Sunday Times-Behaviour & Attitudes polls, in addition to two Sunday Business Post-Red C polls (polls on 27th January and 24th February) and three Sunday Independent-Millward Brown polls (17th February, 3rd March and 17th March) have offered grim reading for the two government parties and…
The slow Fianna Fail march continues apace – Commentary on the Paddy Power-Red C poll (10th January 2013)
Adrian Kavanagh, 10th January 2013 Today’s Paddy Power-Red C poll is the first major poll of the 2013 calendar year and the first such one since the Budget in December. As with the December 2nd Sunday Business Post-Red C poll, it does not make for pleasant reading for Fine Gael, with the party support levels down three percentage…
Avoiding short-term thinking in politics
Posted by Eoin O’Malley (7th January, 2013) One of the most common complaints about democracy is that it shortens our rulers’ time horizons to an extent that damages our interests. If you are a hereditary absolute monarch, presumably you take a very long view, as you care about the inheritance you leave your children and grandchildren. But…
Blue Da Ba Dee? Bad news for Fine Gael in December 2nd Sunday Business Post-Red C poll
Adrian Kavanagh, 1st December 2012 Tomorrow’s Sunday Business Post-Red C poll offers grim reading for Fine Gael, with the party support levels down six percentage points on the previous such poll. This poll puts national support levels for the main political parties and groupings, and relative to the most recent Sunday Business Post-Red C poll on 28th October 2012, as…
Bill to reduce the number of TDs
Posted by Elaine Byrne Deputy Brendan Griffin (Kerry South) has introduced a proposed amendment to the constitution which seeks to – Hold a referendum on reducing the Dail to 101 members From 100 evenly populated constituencies Retain the PRSTV system. Deputy Griffin says the primary purpose of the amendment is to help “ensure that…
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