It has been an interesting day in terms of council nominations for the Presidential Election and it looks like this could drag out until Wednesday morning! Senator Norris started off well by receiving the nomination from Laois County Council, but then things started going downhill. Carlow County Council ended up being tied between Senator David Norris and Dana Rosemary Scallon. The vote then came down to the casting vote of the Chair who voted for Dana. That was Dana’s first nomination...
After a meeting last night with supporters Mattie McGrath TD has decided not to sign the nomination papers for Senator David Norris, this means that focus until Wednesday midday will focus on the 12 councils meeting this week. Note: Information on days of meeting and motions before them are from the fabulous plaintalking.ie blog by Andrea Pappin Monday 26th Four councils are meeting today. Laois County Council and South Dublin County Council will be meeting to discuss motions supporting...
Shane Ross has become the 18th Oireachtas member to sign the nomination papers for Senator David Norris to contest the Presidential Election. He is now just two signatures short for the nomination from Oireachtas members. Where will he get those two signatures is the big question. Michael Lowry TD, Mattie McGrath TD and Senator Martin McAleese have all been mentioned as possible signatories but will it happen? If he cannot get the 20 it is most likely that he...
The Sunday Business Post has two polls for us about the Irish Presidential Election. It has one poll with the 5 nominated candidates so far and one poll with the 7 candidates who will most likely be on the ballot on October 27th. In the 5 Candidate poll the 1st preference vote would look as follows: Higgins, Michael D (Lab) 27% McGuinness, Martin (SF) 20% Davis, Mary (Ind) 20% Mitchell, Gay (FG) 15% Gallagher, Sean (Ind) 15% This poll...
With less then seven days to the close of nominations for the Irish Presidential Election. Senator David Norris has 17 nominations from Oireachtas members but he is going to find it very hard to get the final three signatures. The 17 Oireachtas members who have nominted are as follows: Stephen Donnelly TD Catherine Murphy TD Maureen O’Sullivan TD Mick Wallace TD Joan Collins TD Joe Higgins TD Clare Daly TD John Halligan TD Richard Boyd Barrett TD Senator Katherine...
Today has seen a number of events in the race for the Presidency. Firstly the Independent Candidate Mary Davis picked up two further Council nominations with Louth County Council and North Tipperary County Council both voting for Ms Davis as they had not been approached by any other candidates. This brings her total number of nominations to 12. 1997 Presidential Candidate Dana Rosemary Scanlon has today announced her intention to seek an nomination for this years nomination. On tonights...
While a lot of attention is being focused on Senator David Norris’s attempt at getting 20 Oireachtas signatures, the Council route seems to have been neglected by the Senator. That could change after tomorrow as Fingal County Council holds a special meeting to discuss motions for nominating a candidate in the Presidential Election. The following have motions tabled for tomorrows Council meeting: Senator Davis Norris Gary Smylie Richard McSweeney Joseph Duffy Garrett Kelly Dr Pat Jones A motion in...
After Wednesday the 28th of September the nominations for the Irish Presidential Election will be over and the focus will turn to the voters and what we think. As the elections is on Thursday 27th October, the deadline for registering to vote is Monday 10th of October. To see if you are registered go to www.ChecktheRegister.ie. Application forms can be downloaded or else obtained from local authorities. To be eligible for inclusion in the supplement to the register a...
The Sunday Independent has two polls in it today in relation to the Presidential Election today. I am going to ignore the “less scientific, Sunday Independent/ Quantum Research” poll. The poll found support for the declared candidates as follows: Michael D Higgins 32% (Lab) David Norris 19% (Ind) Mary Davis 18% (Ind) Gay Mitchell 17% (FG) Sean Gallagher 14% (Ind) While this poll was taken before Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein entered the race, it is still interesting. Sean...
Sean Gallagher tonight secured his final two nominations needed to contest the Presidential Election. Following his nomination last week by Leitrim County Council and Meath Council, Mr Gallagher was today nominated by Clare County Council and Cork City Council. This makes Mr Gallagher the fourth candidate to succeed in gaining a nomination from councils in order to contest the Presidential Election. This means that he joins Mary Davis, Micheal D Higgins and Gay Mitchell on the Ballot Paper. ...
Mary Davis has made history this evening after receiving her tenth nomination for the Presidency. That is twice the number Dane Rosemary Scanlon received in 1997. Last week she received nominations from Galway County Council and Sligo County Council. Today she received a further eight nominations. They were from: Monaghan County Council South Tipperary County Council Kerry County Council Wicklow County Council Wexford County Council Waterford County Council Mayo County Council Galway City Council This is exceptional moment for the Davis...
Today Mary Davies became the first Independent Candidate to get the backing of four councils for this years Presidential Election. Both Monaghan and South Tipperary Councils passed official nominations, meaning that Ms Davies has passed the constitutional minimum to be on the ballot paper following her nomination last week by Galway County Council and Sligo County Council. Since then both Kerry County Council and Wicklow County Council have also passed nominations in support of Ms Davies. Mayo County Council...
RTÉ reported last night that a party whip was being applied to Fianna Fail TD’s and Senators to stop them individually nominating Independent candidates. Speaking in an interview aired on RTÉ’s This Week In Politics, Seán Ó Fearghail, The Fianna Fail whip, said the party would act collectively if it chooses to support an independent candidate. This is seen as a blow to the possible return of Senator Norris to the race for the Presidency. The Irish Times today...
13 County and City Councils will today decide which candidate to back in the years Presidential Election. Four Local Authorities nominations are needed by a candidate to be on the ballot. So far four Councils have passed nominations. Galway County Council and Sligo County Council have nominated Mary Davis. While Meath County Council and Leitrim County Council have nominated Sean Gallagher. Of the Councils meeting today, Mary Davis is expected to secure the nomination of six councils: Monaghan, Kerry, Mayo,...
The Sunday Independent is reporting that David Norris is to re-enter the race for the Presidency. After withdrawing from the race over the summer I am surprised at his re-entry to the race. His reasons for re-enter seem to be because of the support being shown, but his reason for withdrawal has not changed. Those who withdrew their support for Mr Norris have not changed their mind, though there are talks that some Fianna Fail TD’s and Senators may help...
So with the campaigning underway and nominations coming in, Paddy Power has commissioned RED C to undertake an opinion poll for the Presidential Election. The results are interesting and changes are from the last RED C Poll in August. Micheal D Higgins (Lab) 36% (-3) Gay Mitchell (FG) 24% (-1) Sean Gallagher (Ind) 21% (nc) Mary Davies (Ind) 19% (+4) The only candidate to rise in the poll is Mary Davies, which may show some momentum in the campaign...
From November 7th Gay and Bisexual men in England, Scotland and Wales will be able to give blood. Any Gay or Bisexual Man who has not had homosexual sex in 12 months will be able to give blood. While its not the most ideal of situations, it is better then a blanket ban on gay and bisexual men. Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service national director Keith Thompson said: “We are pleased that this new donor selection criteria has been...
John Dali, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, has stated that a blanked ban on Gay and Bisexual Men giving blood is against EU law. In an answer to Glenis Willmott (S&D) and Michael Cashman (S&D) he explained that EU law warranted the deferral of those “at high risk of acquiring severe infectious diseases” due to their “sexual behaviour”. Mr Dalli underlined that “‘sexual behaviour’ is not identical with ‘sexual orientation’”. The Commission also noted that when...
This week has the campaign for the Irish Presidency has got properly under-way. Official nominations have begun to passed by nominating Local Authorities. So far five local authorities have used there constitutional right to nominate a candidate. Sean Gallagher is the closest independent candidate to gaining a full nomination having received the backing of three councils. Meath County Council, Leitrim County Council have nominated him, while Cork City Council will officially nominate him at a meeting next week following...
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland have launched a consultation on their Broadcasting Code on Referenda and Election Coverage (PDF). While it contains all the usual stuff on fair and equal access and the ban on political advertisements, it also upholds the Moratorium as applied at the General Election earlier this year. While reading through the draft code, I came upon an issue, should the same Moratorium be applied to Referenda and Elections? In the case of elections I can...
So its 2011, the supposed “Clash of Civilisation” hasn’t happened, but it still could. Multiculturalism and Political Correctness once hailed as being the only way to deal with “people different to us” is failing. The issues created when “others” moved into an area are still there. Nothing is improving and in some places cultural tensions are increasing. There are a few reasons why multiculturalism is failing. The fear of the “Other” still exists. We say say we aren’t racist,...
This week the Anna Lindh Exchange will take place in Tunis, Tunisia between the 23rd and 26th June. This will be a region-wide meeting of civil society players acting for democracy and freedoms with an intercultural perspective. Gathering between 150 and 200 participants from all over the Euro-Med region who work in the fields of Artistic creation, Media and Social Networks, Civil society development and Resources for Citizenship, the event will be a great opportunity for participants to learn...
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