Irish Politics Thread

If they had got enough seats they’d be in. The Shinners getting in would absolutely be more of the “same”. The change mantra is total rubbish.

Very true. It’s the dynamic between two age old enemies and a powerful European Green Party that’s most compelling.

I didn't know you could have a personal Taoiseach!

Let's be honest though, that's not how the cabinet is really picked, even if ideally should be the case. 

The issue I would have is that if you have an entire region of the country with no representation at cabinet level it means that it is much less likely to get it's fair share of investment and attention from government. Even if one were going to be less cynical and say that the west of Ireland having no representation won't affect investment in the region, there is no member of cabinet who will understand the issues and needs of the region, what will work and what may not, to the same degree that someone from the region would. The fact that Calleary wasn't given a ministry is bizarre also. 

Not necessarily, the whole point of such a ministry would be to promote equality as much as possible. Not being a victim of inequality doesn't mean that someone can't see blatant examples of inequality and address them or take advice from experts in the area for more subtle issues of inequality. It is not a valid comparison in my view, it's not as if there is a ministry for the west of Ireland. If you ignore an entire region of the country when forming a cabinet then almost certainly issues specific to that region aren't going to get the same attention to detail and certainly won't have a fair shot if there is a choice between a project on the east coast or a project on the west coast. The entire region has no voice at the center of power. If it's a case of the strictly the best person for the job, with no thought given given to gender, geographical or political considerations, then there is no need for our cabinet to be members of the Oireachtas at all, the Taoiseach should be able to choose the best person for the job who is willing to accept, like they do in the US.