Upcoming Events

National | Politics / Elections

no events match your query!

New Events

National

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Yale Scientists Link Covid Vaccines to Alarming New Syndrome Causing Immune System Damage and Chroni... Thu Feb 20, 2025 13:38 | Will Jones
Scientists from Yale have discovered a syndrome linked to?the mRNA Covid vaccines that damages the immune system and causes chronic fatigue with spike protein persisting in the blood for up to two years.
The post Yale Scientists Link Covid Vaccines to Alarming New Syndrome Causing Immune System Damage and Chronic Fatigue appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Amanda Holden ?Took 28 Flights? for BBC Show Despite Net Zero Pledge Thu Feb 20, 2025 11:54 | Will Jones
Amanda Holden has said that she took 28?flights?to Spain during filming for a BBC DIY show, despite the corporation?s Net Zero pledge.
The post Amanda Holden “Took 28 Flights” for BBC Show Despite Net Zero Pledge appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Conservative Academics Are Still Self-Censoring, Says New Report Thu Feb 20, 2025 09:00 | Noah Carl
A new survey has found that conservative academics are still much more likely to self-censor. More than half said they "hide their political beliefs from other faculty in an attempt to keep their jobs".
The post Conservative Academics Are Still Self-Censoring, Says New Report appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Energy Prices Go Up, Miliband Doubles Down Thu Feb 20, 2025 07:00 | Ben Pile
Ed Miliband has blamed high energy prices on Britain's "reliance on global fossil fuel markets". This is nonsense, says Ben Pile. It's Net Zero that makes Britain's gas cost four times more than America's.
The post Energy Prices Go Up, Miliband Doubles Down appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Thu Feb 20, 2025 02:07 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Westerners and the conflict in Ukraine, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Feb 18, 2025 06:56 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?120 Fri Feb 14, 2025 13:14 | en

offsite link Did the IDF kill more Israelis on October 7, 2023, than the Palestinian resistan... Fri Feb 14, 2025 13:00 | en

offsite link JD Vance Tells Munich Security Conference "There's A New Sheriff In Town", by J.... Fri Feb 14, 2025 07:37 | en

offsite link Donald Trump and the conflict in Ukraine, by Thierry Meyssan Wed Feb 12, 2025 05:10 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Independents in Ireland Dare not Speak their Name

category national | politics / elections | news report author Wednesday April 23, 2014 17:33author by Justin Morahan Report this post to the editors

Government says: We decide what to call you

There can be no Independents listed on Irish ballot papers although they are coming in at over 20% in the polls



On the 16 April 2014, an Independent TD, Catherine Murphy, tried to get the Government to agree that Independent candidates in Irish elections would be allowed to describe themselves as "Independent" on the ballot paper. She failed in her efforts. Minister Alex White (Labour) read out a most unconvincing Civil Servant's set of reasons for this decision. Independents in Ireland will therefore continue to be described in the upcoming local and European elections as "Non-Party".

The term "Non-Party" sounds negative, is negative and can give an impression that a candidate would like to be in a party but can't make it.
It also conjures up images of someone who is against everything and for nothing. The opposite is most often the truth.

In the present Dáil, Independent TDs (along with a few notable party members), are by a long shot the outstanding performers. Independents are scoring highly in the polls. Interestingly, the polls describe them as "Independents", not "Non-Party".

The Government parties of Fine Gael and Labour may well be afraid that a new breed of TDs who put their country before party may infest the next Dáil with integrity and non-corruption.

And how horrible it would be if, after achieving power, they were to insist that in future elections all candidates who belong to parties be henceforth described as "Non-Independents" on future ballot papers.

An equitable quid pro quo?

author by Tpublication date Wed Apr 23, 2014 23:19author address author phone Report this post to the editors

The attached image here illustrates what is meant in the above article and it is a good point too.

And the link below has some good discussion on the nature of independents in an election system in terms of effects and influence

Image of ballot paper with independents indicated as "Non Party"
Image of ballot paper with independents indicated as "Non Party"

Related Link: http://independentforum.wordpress.com/dail/
author by seanorpublication date Sat May 17, 2014 10:54author email author address author phone Report this post to the editors

A list, on the web, of each independent candidate, where/what position (EU or local) they're standing for, and WHAT they stand for on different issues would be useful. There are some I wouldn't want to vote for because they don't represent my views on, for example, abortion law. There are others in my area who may represent things I agree with, or not, but it's difficult to tell.

 
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy