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Prime Time Election Special, 2nd June

Simon McGarr — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:58:51 +0000

UPDATE: You can watch this programme again on the RTE Player site.

7:57 PM Simon McGarr - Tonight’s panel: Eoin Ryan FF, Colm Burke FG, Susan O’Keefe L, Mary Lou McDonald SF, Ray O’Malley Libertas, Dan Boyle G, Joe Higgins SP

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9:30 PM Mark_Coughlan - For the sake of clarity, it’s a Euro election special specifically – nothing on the by-elections or locals
9:34 PM Fergal Crehan - Prime Time preceded by an FG Party Political Broadcast. Enda Kenny in an Important Office with a flag behind him. His tie is awful.
9:35 PM Fergal Crehan - Cut to the candidates on the trail. Wow. I mean I know politics is not a glamorous buisiness, but still…
9:37 PM Fergal Crehan - EU elections are the largest exercise in democracy ever seen. And yet…
9:40 PM Mark_Coughlan - Ganley is going to bring back the bonus and the keep off the third level fees? From Brussels?
9:40 PM Fergal Crehan - Man says that Leitrim didn’t get much from Europe in the past 20 years. I suspect the figures for structural grants say otherwise.
9:41 PM Mark_Coughlan - @Fregal But they have shopping centres in Dublin! They must have got loads!
9:43 PM Mark_Coughlan - One of my pet-hates – people saying Fine (in the English pronunciation) Gael…
9:43 PM Fergal Crehan - How can someone say it makes no difference who’s in power, when they’ve only ever known one party in power?
9:46 PM Suzy Byrne - I’m still not over Paschal Mooney snogging that bride
9:47 PM Fergal Crehan - That man is an IFA lobbyist. No doubt he’s a farmer too, but he’s not just a random talking head.
9:51 PM Suzy Byrne - I wonder did parties get asked to put someone forward or did the producers pick people specifically
9:52 PM Simon McGarr - Eoin Ryan, loser-in-waiting, gives us the old waffle. Hardly the way to make a breakthrough.
9:53 PM Simon McGarr - Susan O’Keefe is playing her party colour scheme at full throttle.
9:53 PM Mark_Coughlan - Marko is getting in my Twitter research from Friday… lol
9:54 PM Simon McGarr - Did I see the appearance of FF as The National Question?
9:54 PM Suzy Byrne - Waits for SRTechnics mention…
9:54 PM Mark_Coughlan - *edit* waits [with Suzy] for STR
9:54 PM Fergal Crehan - Joe wastes no time in getting “Neo-liberalism” in
9:55 PM Suzy Byrne - There is a lot of canvass tan/burn going on tonight.
9:55 PM Simon McGarr - When do neo-liberals get to be just liberals? Or are they like 1 new p?
9:55 PM Mark_Coughlan - Susan O’Keefe must be melting, big overcoat under those lights…
9:56 PM Simon McGarr - God, I can’t stand Mary-Lou McDonald.
9:57 PM RTE_Elections - Dan Boyle, Green Party, says there is a sense of disillusionment with the Govt but it is not being channelled in the right way
9:57 PM Fergal Crehan - My own personal Section 31 goes into effect when MLMcD starts talking on TV
9:57 PM Mark_Coughlan - @Simon when does Clark become superman… he goes into the phonebooth, he comes out but no one knows when exactly it happens…
9:57 PM Simon McGarr - Looking forward to the Libertas guy. He looks like a laugh
9:57 PM Mark_Coughlan - @Fergal LOL
9:58 PM Simon McGarr - Liveblogging impaired by eating an ice cream cone. Mint choc-chip the corner stone of democracy.
9:58 PM Suzy Byrne - Colm Burke wins fashion jury vote!
9:59 PM RTE_Elections - Prime Time’s Aoife Kavanagh reports on the race for Europe. Watch it now www.rte.ie
10:00 PM Suzy Byrne - Anyone fancy calling it?
10:01 PM Fergal Crehan - @Suzy Heart says Joe, but head says MLMcD
10:02 PM Simon McGarr - Spleen chuckles to itself about Eoin Ryan.
10:03 PM Mark_Coughlan - No one knows what Thomas King looks like… seriously, nobody.
10:03 PM Simon McGarr - Nessa Childers takes a late sudden surge in the fashion stakes with her magic blue jacket.
10:04 PM Suzy Byrne - It’s a change from the pink alright Simon
10:05 PM Suzy Byrne - Missing pictures in the East Candidate list also.
10:05 PM Simon McGarr - Paddy Garvey and Jim Tallon the men of mystery in East constituency.
10:05 PM Fergal Crehan - Mark Little does not strike one as a man much given to deep thought or reflection
10:06 PM Simon McGarr - What do you have the other two don’t to the three looking for the last Dublin seat. Joe starts slow.
10:06 PM Suzy Byrne - Eoin Ryan will say that Mary Lou and Joe won’t bring any jobs to Dublin and namecall them something terrible
10:07 PM Mark_Coughlan - …
10:07 PM Suzy Byrne - Another unfortunate camera moment for Eoin
10:07 PM Simon McGarr - But hits his stride with nationalisation of the banks under central command and control- a policy he stuck with until the wheel finally turned it up.
10:08 PM Simon McGarr - Brain tuning Mary-Lou out.
10:08 PM Simon McGarr - Eoin Ryan in favour of good. Against evil.
10:08 PM Mark_Coughlan - I’m anti-jobs. Wont vote for Eoin so.
10:08 PM Fergal Crehan - He is pro jobs. This is revolutionary
10:09 PM Simon McGarr - References his track record. I’ve failed to notice same.
10:10 PM Fergal Crehan - Insane FF tactic. Identifying with the companies and not the workers.
10:10 PM Simon McGarr - Brain blocker engaged. Someone will have to fill in what she’s saying.
10:10 PM Simon McGarr - He went on flights with FAS!
10:11 PM Fergal Crehan - FAS junkets a sure vote-winner! Joe Higgins ought to hit him hard on that
10:11 PM Suzy Byrne - Bingo!
10:11 PM Mark_Coughlan - YAAAAY
10:11 PM Fergal Crehan - SR Technics. Drink!
10:12 PM Simon McGarr - Scuttling! Joe wins on best insect imagry.
10:12 PM Suzy Byrne - Joe is leaving studio to go on Vincent?
10:12 PM Simon McGarr - SR Technics FTW!
10:13 PM Simon McGarr - That was unilluminating. It simply reinforced my existing feelings about the MEP candidates.
10:13 PM dermotcasey - Right think there’ll have to be a new version of buzzword bingo for elections
10:13 PM Mark_Coughlan - MLMCD was vague, even more so than usual
10:14 PM lostexpectation - hello
10:14 PM Simon McGarr - Joe will be Joe. ML McDonald induces mental fug. And Eoin Ryan has loser written all over his flabby uninspiring face.
10:15 PM Fergal Crehan - @Simon You can smell the failure off the FF campaign these days. People run from them lest it rub off on them
10:15 PM Mark_Coughlan - Just breathed a big sigh of relief when I confirmed I was signed into my own accounts when I tweeted “Quote @votejoehiggins “SR Technics”… again.”
10:16 PM lostexpectation - ff won’t do as bad as anyone hopes
10:16 PM lostexpectation - i wish rte would do more on the locals
10:17 PM Mark_Coughlan - they did a program like this on the locals on Thursday
10:18 PM lostexpectation - did he say bombed by the tsunami?
10:18 PM Suzy Byrne - Pat Cox doing his plug for ‘make me commissioner’
10:19 PM Fergal Crehan - FF will not want to lose a TD to Europe. Rumours swirling that they might give Cox the gig. When does it fall open?
10:19 PM Simon McGarr - Yes, that’s right. They were bombed by a tidal wave. Just as well we have clear communicators in Europe.
10:19 PM Simon McGarr - Cox politically homeless. No way plums will fall to him. If you don’t want to lose a TD to Europe, you send your Attorney General.
10:20 PM Suzy Byrne - Youtube questions arrive in
10:20 PM Mark_Coughlan - Reckon that’ll be the only youtube question that’ll get used…
10:20 PM Suzy Byrne - Raymond O’Malley joins the panel with his 80% figure which goes down to 70 in seconds
10:21 PM Simon McGarr - Hooray! Raymond O’Malley appears and immediately snorts up his nose. Nobody disputes his figures, he says. Then, when challenged, he says everyone disputes it.
10:21 PM Mark_Coughlan - O’Malley is class
10:22 PM Fergal Crehan - Ho ho. Susan O’Keeffe went all Vinnie Brown on him for moment there.
10:22 PM lostexpectation - politcians not reading laws they pass, never!
10:23 PM lostexpectation - has he found the maltese falcon yet?
10:24 PM Mark_Coughlan - Wish the candidates had actually answered that question
10:24 PM lostexpectation - ++for oireachtas review of eu laws, is that actually happening? What is susan o’keefe wearing?
10:25 PM Simon McGarr -
10:25 PM Mark_Coughlan - … you know…
10:26 PM Suzy Byrne - Eoin is all over the place tonight – can’t namedrop for peanuts
10:26 PM Simon McGarr - I can’t resist. I admit it.
10:26 PM Simon McGarr - He’s got a rational geo-political point to make. Alas, he is a Fianna Failer and therefore nobody is listening.
10:26 PM Fergal Crehan - Vast majority of EU legislation is in directive form, which by its very nature must be reviewed by national parliaments. In practice, the government tends to wait until the UK have transposed it into their own national law, and copy the wording
10:27 PM Mark_Coughlan - Fuckin hell, Eoin is having awful luck with the camera clips lately…
10:28 PM Simon McGarr - Much of Ireland’s post-Independence legislation basically a photocopy of the UK’s with a harp on top.
10:28 PM lostexpectation - did ye hear last week ryan talking about getting loans for business,up piped mitchell to say he wrote the report and ff didnt invite him to the launch
10:29 PM Simon McGarr - O’Malley of Libertas takes the floor on the sensitive topic of immigration. He’s not looking to close off immigration. Instead he want to look at closing off immigration.
10:29 PM Fergal Crehan - Eoin Ryan reminds me of John McCain in the later stages of his campaign last year. Once you get that loser feeling, its hard to shake off. Nothing seems to go your way, right down to camera angles and lighting
10:29 PM Suzy Byrne - Raymond does it again – starts off saying there is a problem goes round the houses and then finishes by saying the problem is solving itself.
10:29 PM Fergal Crehan - We are encouraging more immigrants to come here? Ireland? Encouraging immigrants?
10:30 PM Simon McGarr - The Fianna Fail phrase book is a small, handy pocket size. “Small Open Economy” gets its own page.
10:30 PM faduda - Did Ryan just say “Feck it”?
10:31 PM Simon McGarr - !
10:31 PM Mark_Coughlan - @Gerard I think it was an effectively
10:31 PM Simon McGarr - FF changed their position on immigration in the last 24 hours. Eoin Ryan says he did it because of a changing world.
10:32 PM Simon McGarr - I can’t believe he’s dragged Corrib in right now.
10:32 PM Simon McGarr - Jaw hanging.
10:32 PM Fergal Crehan - The pack scents blood now. Taking turns to savage him
10:32 PM lostexpectation - have we turned to tv3?
10:33 PM Simon McGarr - Was this FG stuffed shirt co-opted into the EuroParl?
10:33 PM Mark_Coughlan - @LE no, not tonight…
10:33 PM Suzy Byrne - Took over from Coveney @Simon
10:35 PM Mark_Coughlan - This guy was head of the IFA?
10:35 PM Simon McGarr - Vincent Browne Liveblog www.scribblelive.com
10:36 PM Suzy Byrne - Eh what did Dan contribute to the programme?
10:36 PM Mark_Coughlan - @Suzy … probably more than Joe Higgins…
10:36 PM Fergal Crehan - Actually the Lisbon treaty has been significantly renegotiated. A government with less of the stench of death about them might have been able to sell that fact
10:37 PM Simon McGarr - Is it possible to link to that programme on the RTE Player yet?

Vincent Browne, 25th May

Simon McGarr — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:22:54 +0000

10:31 PM Alexia Golez - Tonight’s show is just 30 minutes long.. Perhaps that’s a good thing as everyone is still feeling Q&A
10:34 PM Suzy Byrne - Emmanuel Speed will be on also… the other mysterious Independent!
10:35 PM Suzy Byrne - LOL at vincent’s first question to Joe – I am not mad!
10:35 PM John J - Good ol’ Joe Higgins!
10:35 PM Simon McGarr - www.letsgetsam.com You will be so, so glad you clicked on that.
10:36 PM John J - But if anyone saw Prime Time tonight, they will have seen the devastation the recession is visiting on people. It was scary
10:37 PM Alexia Golez - @Simon Wonderful!
10:37 PM briangreene - Joe does positive – don’t let him deflect you Joe. SP stood against Lisbon – Againstx a bosses Europe.
10:38 PM briangreene - we are twinned with San Jose?
10:38 PM John J - *sings* Do you know the way to San Jose
10:39 PM John J - Dublin is. Happened years ago. Under Frank Feeley City Manager, I think. He fancied a trip
10:39 PM Simon McGarr - Offering a choice- two kinds of Fianna Fail!
10:40 PM briangreene - Byrne had leaflets in Portmarnock before 10am. Not An Post AFAIK. Todays leafleting was 9am-1pm. feet sore.
10:41 PM Niall001 - can you watch this online?
10:41 PM Suzy Byrne - Vincent tonight can be watched online tomorrow on TV3.ie
10:41 PM Alexia Golez - I’m confused how the numbers of members of parliament is a European issue
10:42 PM Niall001 - Bugger, just finished watching Q&A on the live stream. Don’t have the energy to go downstairs. Cheers Suzy.
10:42 PM Simon McGarr - For assistance: Emmanual Sweeny is ex-Muintir na hEireann
10:43 PM Alexia Golez - “Fianna Fáil has gone through like a dose of salts” A new Mary Louism
10:43 PM faduda - After Q&A, Browne talking to Dublin candidates about nothing in particular feels shallow beyond words
10:43 PM BrianGreene - mary lou’s necklace EGC EGC EGC
10:43 PM Simon McGarr - Representing in the sense of not turning up.
10:43 PM John J - She makes me sick!
10:44 PM BrianGreene - 13 mins to go – late coz Britains got Talent ?
10:44 PM John J - There’s red and there’s red! Tone it down Mary Loo!
10:45 PM Simon McGarr - per www.cearta.ie Muintir which had a short time earlier caused controversy by attacking the then government minister Mervyn Taylor during the divorce referendum, saying that as a Jew he ‘may not have a full understanding of Christian marriage’.
10:46 PM Alexia Golez - Look @ Eibhlin’s necklace, Brian.. It’s baroque beautiful!
10:46 PM BrianGreene - Sinn Fein credit flow.
10:46 PM John J - “Can’t accuse SF of propping up the banks.” Nice one, VB.
10:46 PM John J - Joe on the mark again! Direct hit on Lord Mayor!
10:46 PM faduda - VB: “Cant accuse SF of propping up the banks, can we?” MaryLou: “Absolutely not, why would we, Vincent?” MLMcD needs new irony detector
10:46 PM Mark_Coughlan - Joe needs to drop the SR technics thing… every fuckin time…
10:47 PM stretchneil - *shock* Emmanuel Sweeney somewhat less crazy than expected #vinb
10:47 PM ShellDillon - @VoteJoeHiggins good man joe #vinb
10:47 PM BrianGreene - Joe puts focus on SR Technics… i met a sacked SRT worker tonight, not easy for FF to canvass there.
10:47 PM John J - If you worked there – as many did in north county Dublin – it might be of some relevance to you!
10:48 PM faduda - Yeah, but look who he’s sitting beside stretchneil
10:48 PM John J - Dividends? Noone’s getting dividends now!
10:48 PM Mark_Coughlan - “Many” 1500 isn’t “many” out of 1.2/5 million…
10:49 PM Alexia Golez - Cut to break!
10:50 PM John J - Ridiculous Mark, I’m afraid. Job losses like that have devastating impacts on local communities. And 1500 is an awful lot of people in north Dublin.
10:50 PM stretchneil - Hmmm, maybe I spoke a little too soon….. #vinb
10:51 PM John J - And, by the way, Mark, there are hundreds of thousands unemployed now. Every job loss is a tragedy
10:51 PM BrianGreene - @Mark_Coughlan when he has said it 1100 times and 60 times for the apprentices he can stop mentioning it in my ear shot. #vinb
10:51 PM Mark_Coughlan - All Joe Higgins has talked about for his campaign is SR Technics, every single time. And 1500 is NOT awful lot, cop on, there’s 120,000 people in Blanch alone.
10:52 PM BrianGreene - vote vinny B
10:53 PM Fergal Crehan - @Mark the total unemployed is not all that much as a total population either. Do we stop talking about it altogether?
10:53 PM BrianGreene - watch his conference with bloggers 4mins SRT 1hour not @Mark_Coughlan
10:53 PM Christine Bohan - Emmanuel definitely isn’t a commie. Just in case you were still harbouring suspicions.
10:54 PM John J - 120,000 people unemployer in Blanch? Get real Mark.
10:55 PM BrianGreene - @Mark_Coughlan Joe said Dell Waterford Crystal Eircom / he shares it about. SRT anger in Portmarnock/Bayside/Baldoyle is massive.
10:55 PM Mark_Coughlan - @Fergal no, but we dont talk about one small proportion time and time again. Where is Joe’s comment on Xillinex or other CityWest losses? It’ SRT over and over, why such a heavy run on that one company? There are far more, in his area too.
10:55 PM Mark_Coughlan - @John, 120,000 people overall.
10:56 PM faduda - @MArk_Coughlan where does Joe’s colleague Clare Daly work?
10:56 PM Fergal Crehan - @Mark the total victims of abuse are also a small proportion of the population. As are the total of those using the health service at at given time. You seem to be misunderstanding what politics is about
10:56 PM Alexia Golez - And Vinny sighs that his show has been chopped!
10:56 PM Alexia Golez - We sigh along with him
10:57 PM Suzy Byrne - leotraynor.wordpress.com
10:57 PM John J - He only referred to SRT cos Byrne had mentioned flying out to San Jose. That was the context of the airport. And there are far more than 120,000 unemployed, I’m afraid. Anyway, I am off now. Ciao.
10:57 PM Mark_Coughlan - @Faduda… ah sure now, would it be Dublin airport?
10:57 PM BrianGreene - @Mark_Coughlan SRT was Team Aer Lingus – privatised by Labour/Fianna Fail. lessons, lessons.
11:00 PM Mark_Coughlan - @John He brought up San Jose did he not by inferring it was an FF junket – as an excuse to bring up SRT
11:00 PM BrianGreene - @Faduda @Mark_Coughlan the boundaries of Dublin West changed. dublin airport is in Dublin West no longer Dublin North.
11:00 PM faduda - @BrianGreene and everyone who works there lives within the boundaries?
11:01 PM Simon McGarr - And suddenly TV3 has one of those desperate exploitation phone in horrors that nearly cost ITV their licence. Jarring.
11:02 PM Mark_Coughlan - @Simon yeah, where the fuck did that come out of… weird…
11:02 PM BrianGreene - @faduda no I am in Dublin North East. SRT friends of mine (in DNE) got sacked while there was a FULL 3 YEAR ORDER BOOK!
11:02 PM John J - @Mark I think Fergal had it right when he said you seem to be misunderstanding politics. And if you had been listening you would have known that he was replying to her comment, not the other way around. And he spoke about it in relation to jobs, not junkets. I’m afraid you display a certain juvenile naivety about politics, Mark.
11:03 PM Christine Bohan - No need to get personal there, John J.
11:04 PM ann_donnelly - Since when has TV3 had some cheesy gameshow on all night long? Vincent Browne cut short for that? Sign of bad economic times?
11:05 PM John J - One expects a slightle better class of debate, that’s all, Christine.
11:05 PM Mark_Coughlan - Hah, the irony is brilliant.
11:05 PM BrianGreene - €100 what’s the word? has he spoken to anyone yet? #tv3_shite_play_tv
11:06 PM John J - Anyway, off to the leaba. Bye y’all.
11:06 PM Suzy Byrne - Beuuuuuuuuuuutiful….
11:06 PM Mark_Coughlan - Well then take me on regards Joes constant chiming on about SRT. How come he doesnt chime on about the CityWest losses in the Tech and computing industry?
11:07 PM BrianGreene - Im off to the blip.fm thing… nn vinnyB fans
11:07 PM Mark_Coughlan - And as someone who has attended several Socialist Party meetings and is (was or) open to your politics, I’m telling you, you’re in the wrong party if you’re after high quality debate…
10:19 PM Alexia Golez - Up tonight, the European candidates for Dublin with Eibhlin Byrne, Mary Lou McDonald and Joe Higgins amongst others…