“Dragon’s Den ha molto da rispondere”: Consiglio comunale di Dublino sconcertato dai tiri di presidenza
https://www.thejournal.ie/presidential-race-ireland-6818015-Sep2025/?utm_source=shortlink
di zainab1900
“Dragon’s Den ha molto da rispondere”: Consiglio comunale di Dublino sconcertato dai tiri di presidenza
https://www.thejournal.ie/presidential-race-ireland-6818015-Sep2025/?utm_source=shortlink
di zainab1900
21 commenti
Two mad bints.
> “It was clear that the majority of the people who presented themselves in front of us had no idea of either the role of the President or the role of the councillors to whom they were speaking, and I think that would be a basic requirement if you are going to put yourself forward,” they added.
🤌🏻
I know the system is designed to remove a lot of unserious candidates from the final list/ballot but I think it is fair comment that the nomination process for President really could do with some reform. For example, one of the persons who presented in front of DCC yesterday had been in Galway and other places that same day to seek nomination from other councils. I think this is a bit unreasonable and this process for councils to nominate people seems a bit of a farce.
A great example yesterday was at the very end of all the submissions, Dublin City Council held a vote if they would adjourn the meeting (YES) or (NO) which would result in a vote on who to nominate. One of the councilors (Sutcliffe) at the end declared that he wanted to nominate someone and showing how much attention he’d paid to the enter vote, voted YES to end the meeting.
Anyway, I think the nomination process should be reformed to make it a little more likely that we get some decent independents. To describe the quality of candidate yesterday as poor, would be an overstatement. It was absolute bin juice and like the article suggests, these people have no idea what role they are going for.
“Oh mammy,” one councillor could be heard exclaiming.
May I have this as my flair?
as i said yesterday , thank god we are not in the US
The system is doing what it’s supposed to do by removing non serious candidates. They’re whining about it being allegedly undemocratic while many of them are not even understanding what the presidency is.
From what the councillors are describing some of the pitches are nothing to do with the presidency.
They should take into account the ability to speak Irish if their talking about qualifications and clarity of the roles requirements
>”Catherine Morrissey Smyth, a corporate consultant and Kildare native, said she was running for President because she wanted to address homelessness and overcrowding in emergency departments.
>Multiple councillors asked her how she planned to do that considering the limitations of the office she was running for. **She was also asked why she didn’t run for local or national election if she wanted to achieve those aims. She said she isn’t a very political person.”**
Fucking hilarious, you couldn’t make this shit up.
The fact these nutters are weeded out means the system works.
I like the proposal from one of the councillors that any candidates must be recommended by three councillors before being allowed to present as a candidate.
If they cannot get support from three, they have zero chance of support from the council as a whole, and it would immediately weed out the vast majority of the loons who just use it as an opportunity for publicity.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt a real twinge of sympathy for the reps on Dublin City Council until today. What a pain in the hole these wannbe candidates are, although it sounds like there were some entertaining bits.
Not surprised that the disgraceful Malachy Steenson, took the opportunity to disgrace himself yet again in his rant about Kirk. That dope used to be in the Workers Party.
I think it’s getting to the point where the voting we need to do is a referendum to abolish the office of President
The mudguards of our democracy. God bless them sitting through that clown parade.
Was it a regular feature of previous elections that lots of councils would nominate no one? or is the quality of candidates particularly poor this time round
>There was a round of applause when the councillors were finally freed, and one suggested on the way out that perhaps a candidate should have to secure at least the backing of three councillors before they could make a pitch to the whole council…
I can see an argument for it, but I can see such a system becoming very unwieldy very quickly. It’s already pretty hard to get around the councils, unless you’ve a clear support base it’ll be a very awkward requirement.
There may be something to be said for having an initial in camera session though. Or perhaps a questionnaire to be completed before hand, focused on the role of president…
*”I’m President, next on RTE 1″*
Is part of the problem that the position is called the “President”, and so lots of people immediately assume it’s a powerful executive President like in the US or France, because we don’t hear much about the Presidents of other countries that are just figureheads (like in Italy or Germany)?
Maybe they should give the role a new name, so that the confusion doesn’t arise.
>when asked by Councillor Gavin Pepper if he, as President, would attend a friendly football match between the Republic of Ireland and Israel,
This is actually a great question. Would really catch a candidate off guard.
This exchange demonstrates the motley crew best described as rabble who are trying to get a nomination:*“Why haven’t they tried to canvass any of us considering that this is their chosen route to the presidency?” asked Cllr McHugh Farag.*
*“Not one candidate has canvassed me personally. When there is a Seanad election I am inundated with messages from candidates. You are asking us to take a massive risk but we do not know who you are.*
*“We are the gatekeepers to that office. That is right, the way it should be. I don’t understand why you haven’t tried to speak to me before this.”*
*This prompted a heated response from Ms Kerr, who questioned why Cllr McHugh Farag had not done her own research on the candidates.*
Of course the first bit of research that comes up for Seana Kerr [is this](https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/ftpoutcomes/2025/june-2025/reasons-kerr-ftpcsorm-80056-20250603.pdf) 🙄
I think the simplest solution would be to require 10% of previous years income as a deposit to be heard. That would still give access while properly charging the likes of McGregor and keeping crackpots from wasting everyone’s time.
Also this is next level in hypocrisy:
*”Speaking* ***from his home in the US, Peter Casey*** *said the office of President had evolved into a meaningless role but that it could be used to make a difference.*
*He said Ireland was at a crossroads and was being* ***overrun by both legal*** *and illegal immigrants”*
Now you all know what it’s like to try to figure out who to vote for in Longford, second only to Galway or West Cork as an incubator for Political Loolahs.
YOU’RE ALL IN LONGFORD NOW AHAHAHAHAHA
Worth it for the comedy I guess?
> The Green Party’s Donna Cooney said: “It was my understanding that the code of conduct meant that potential candidates would not be able to use racial slurs”.
Jesus fucking christ.