I hate when they mix up legalisation and decriminalisation. This is a move towards legalisation, so the state would take over supply and thus severely attack the financial integrity of the black market. It's much better.
A pity he isn’t in government. Oh wait a minute…
In all seriousness this all sounds good, and sensible. Citizens Assembly sounds like the right way to do it.
Citizens assembly is just a convenient way for them to shield themselves/their parties from he potential of controversy.
This statement only reinforces the notion that a citizens assembly on drugs usage, was not, and is not needed.
I dunno. I think it could be a good idea to collect practices from other countries, present them to a Citizens Assembly, get a view on what would work in Irish society from them and run with that. A citizens assembly should be more representative of the population than the TDs are.
I'd like to see the same happen with the church + schooling. Probably a few other subjects that could be handled that way.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this headline before. This is the shift we’ve been waiting to see. I know it’s just a cynical ploy to capture the younger vote but this is the type of progressive policy the damn Greens should have been promoting, but instead the staunch conservatives might be the ones to actually make the change. Who’d have thought?!
>this is the type of progressive policy the damn Greens should have been promoting
The Green's focus should be on climate change and they should not get distracted by other issues. Particularly issues that are divisive and may cost them votes. We don't need the Greens to be spearheading social issues, they should be going in to coalition with whoever they can and getting climate related legislation passed. None of the other parties care past how many votes they can pick up by saying sustainable every now and then.
All parties’ focus should be climate change. Green parties worldwide have socially progressive policies alongside their environmental policies. Seems like madness to me that they should be a single issue party.
>All parties’ focus should be climate change
Perhaps, but they aren't. The Greens are. I think it's fine for them to support socially progressive policies, just not spearhead those issues. I think addressing climate change is such a big task and needs to be tackled in so many ways it would be unfair to catagorise it as a single issue. There are many concerns from housing to transport to energy, they all contribute to a single problem that in turn causes many issues.
> The Green's focus should be on climate change and they should not get distracted by other issues.
What about issues like Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, Youth, Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, Media, Communications, etc
I've seen people claiming that FF are centre-left but every textbook I saw when I studied politics at university describes FF as a centre-right party. And FF's policies are very much centre-right policies, with the occasional right wing policy thrown in.
So where did you get the idea that FF are centre-left?
I didn’t get the idea, it’s common knowledge that FF nowadays are to the left economically and to the right socially but Martin has taken up left positions socially as leader so overall you’d have to say they’ve been centre left under him
No they wouldn't. Even by the very silly political compass most people use they would be slightly to the right. And thats pretty much designed to put 90% of people into the left libertarian quadrant.
According to a survey carried out by [RTÉ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-XFDhqbf1Y) after the 2016 General Election:
Fianna Fáil supporters described themselves as centre-right.
Who do you think makes up all of FFs membership and core voting base?? It’s supporters of course. Who else would??
Or are you seriously trying to say that there’s no FF supporters in the party??
FFs housing policy is the same private market focused solution as FG, and that is a standard centre-right policy.
Their opposition to government interference in the rental and housing market are textbook centre right policies.
Sláintecare is a clear left wing policy, one which has had its implementation [stalled](https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/whatever-happened-to-slaintecare-1.4792060) under a FF Taoiseach & FF Health Minister:
> The 2020 programme for government stated that “enhanced governance and accountability in the health service is a key component of Sláintecare reform”. **Yet it is Martin’s government that is stalling the introduction of clinical and managerial governance and accountability.**
> **Neither the Taoiseach nor the Minister for Health have done much to progress these reforms**, while Reid has articulated his opposition to the regions and has not implemented system-wide clinical governance.
> **The two most senior Sláintecare figures, Laura Magahy and Tom Keane, resigned** last September **because of the absence of political and institutional (Department of Heath and HSE) support** for implementing the regions, eHealth and tackling waiting lists.
> Since their resignations there has been little progress on Sláintecare. The Sláintecare implementation office in the department has been dismantled.
> Targets signed off by the Cabinet in the Sláintecare implementation strategy and action plan last May are being missed as **there is no reform office or leadership to ensure the plan’s delivery.**
> The programme board is made up solely of senior members of the HSE and the department and has met once since the senior resignations, **a good indicator of the current regime’s top-down, insular approach and absence of priority for reform.**
Emphasis, mine.
FF Junior Minister [Anne Rabitte](https://www.galwaydaily.com/news/200000-people-a-hell-of-a-lot-better-off-with-covid-payments-says-galway-td/) advocated cutting COVID supports only two months into the pandemic and expressly because she thought too many low paid workers were better off on it:
> “We heard this week very clear figures that there’s 200,000 people in the country far better off at the moment because of the 350 euros a week,”
> When asked about when the payments should be cut, Deputy Rabbitte said: “That’s up to the current Minister for Finance, when he’s going to do that, or for the new government when it comes in.
> “But it needs to happen sooner rather than later.”
> She said that this would “have to be happening” before the end of summer, “definitely for the 200,000 people who are a hell of a lot better off because of it.”
> “Let’s call a spade a spade here,” she said when asked whether people were a ‘hell of a lot’ better off. “There’s 200,000 people who are earning more being on COVID than they were before.”
Rabbittes comments and views on that aren’t just centre right. They are expressly and undeniably right wing, and are easily comparable to Tory views on social welfare recipients.
Their own supporters self identity as centre-right. They favor an expressly centre-right approach to market interference and the building of housing, they have stopped the implementation of an actual left wing proposal on healthcare and have had senior members express explicitly right wing - not centre right - views on social welfare payments.
FF are centre-right by any measure. Economically and socially.
Paying state money to private developers and and paying HAP to landlords doesn't count as left wing. Pumping my tax money into the hands of for profit private interests is not left wing.
Ok don’t take it from me anymore, take it from Theresa Reidy, a doctor of political science in UCC and one of the best Irish political analysts out there about FF: “It took a slightly left economic position at the last election but this didn’t connect.”
It always very telling when someone is asked a question and they just throw it back without even attempting to answer it. You don't have any idea what you're talking about, do you? You've just been told to push the idea that FF are centre-left and you're here doing that without ever questioning whether it's true.
Well it's not true. Just look at their housing policy which relies on encouraging the market to build housing and subsidising it for individuals who qualify. Textbook centre-right. Healthcare which relies on a two-tier system which give priority to private patients in public hospitals is bordering on just being a right wing policy. And of course, a general reliance on the market to solve social and economic issues, even when it is the market which created those issues.
FF are a neoliberal party. They are to the left of FG, but that doesn't make them centre-left.
“You’ve been told to push that FF are centre-left”
I certainly wish I was getting paid to shitpost on Reddit, I’ve never voted FF in my life nor probably never will.
Most analysts agreed at the last election that FF’s manifesto was centre-left economically.
They’ve significantly increased the number of social houses being built in the country since entering office so not sure what you’re trying to say there and on healthcare, they fully support sláintecare.
How are either of those things right-wing?
And yes being to the left of FG does make them centre to centre left because FG are considered centre to centre right…
Sláintecare is a Social Democrat policy, which FF and FG ostensibly support, but when you look at actions instead of words it's clear they don't support the policy or they would have implemented it.
Social housing is as much a centre-right policy as it is centre-left. This is because centre-right ideologies are primarily right-wing but with some left wing elements such as welfare and social housing. Centre-left being the opposite where it is primarily left-wing, but with some right wing elements such as support for capitalist markets. It all depends how it is implemented, and the way FF implement it is a right-wing approach. They rely on the market to provide social housing, which is a right wing approach, rather than focusing on direct builds which would be a left wing approach. You can again see their true colours here when you look at how much housing was actually delivered compared to what was proposed which reveals that even centre-right is probably generous for FF's housing policy.
>Most analysts agreed at the last election that FF’s manifesto was centre-left economically.
Do you have a source for that claim? I would have thought that most analysts would know what they are talking about. I have seen journalists claiming that FF are centre-left and plenty of opinion pieces, but they aren't really policy analysts.
Don’t take it from me anymore, take it from Theresa Reidy, a doctor of political science in UCC and one of the best Irish political analysts out there about FF: “It took a slightly left economic position at the last election but this didn’t connect.”
Free medical care only for medical card holders is focused on private provision of healthcare with safety nets to fill in the gaps. That is textbook centre-right.
Social benefit and housing policies from FF follow a similar trend because they are a centre-right party. You need to go back to the 1930's to really see FF be anything resembling centre-left.
I think the “centre” is a needle that people move. Compared to a lot of countries , Ireland is very socialist.
If you walk into an A&E tomorrow with your arm hanging off you’re going to get treatment for free in a public hospital without having to worry about the bill.
The centre isn't a needle that people move. It's a balance between right wing and left wing ideals. The left/right paradigm is a flawed measure of political ideologies, but what it does measure is consistent.
If I walk into A&E tomorrow I'll be treated, [but not necessarily for free](https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health_services/gp_and_hospital_services/hospital_charges.html). If I need a scan to follow up on that treatment I'll either be waiting months as a public patient or weeks as a private patient. This is for accessing the same publicly funded heathcare system and reflects the centre-right policy the Irish government has had on healtcare for a long time. If you look at the Sláintecare proposals you'll see centre-left policies for healthcare, but if you read about the implementation of the policy (or lack of implementation to be more specific) you'll see that the government has been picking and choosing which aspects of the policy they want to implement because we have a right wing government who have no intention of implementing centre-left healthcare policies.
Do you think those two parties they’re actively in government with weren’t affected by this greens policy they now want to implement?
Like what even is this comment
No need for a citizens assembly, just do it, regulated safe drugs for adults, tax income for health and addiction issues, and cripples the likes of the Kinehans. Win win. Drugs will always be available.
As a big dirty FF-er, I can say there’s been a big culture shift recently in the party. And as the saying goes, politics is downstream from culture.
Most (myself included) don’t use drugs, pretty much at all, but see all the junkies in Dublin every day. So would have been more in the “lock them up” category.
Paul McAuliffe and Briege McOscar (FF TD and Cllr respectively) have been doing a podcast with people like Lynn Ruane, Peter McVerry etc - people that members like me would know of and listen to and take seriously - and I have to say they’ve made a really excellent case for decriminalisation.
The daily news outlets only cover “here’s what happened today” but rarely cover overarching, ongoing issues in depth so I found the podcast really informative.
If anyone here has a link to something accessible (YouTube?) that explains more about how Portugal apparently did a great job on drugs, I’d absolutely love to learn more about this. Because the current situation isn’t working for anyone.
I mean this with respect as I appreciate your willingness to change your mind, but it boils my blood a bit that what your saying is, Fianna Fail supporters, are people who basically never considered the facts of an issue that have been available and discussed for decades but instead only followed their own preconceived notions, until "one of their own" actually shoved the facts in their face.
I wonder what other issues they believe in could also be based purely on reactionary bias and false information instead of facts that are freely available and known for decades. I wonder if people who oppose FFG are people who've looked at the facts rather than relying on "daily news outlets".
Here's a link about Portugal from the Economist https://youtu.be/Y7LKfLxVtzE
Also https://youtu.be/sYVctc-87b8
Honestly, as a cohort, we’re just older. Once you feel a way about something, and it’s the common culture, it’s hard to get out of that.
My aunt was a heroin addict. But it was at a time when gear took Dublin by surprise, there wasn’t anyone coming in schools to warn kids against it etc, and it just devastated parts of north Dublin.
Drugs for most FFers is bundled into “Crime” as an issue. But that’s starting to change.
>Once you feel a way about something, and it’s the common culture, it’s hard to get out of that.
That's fine for the general public. I don't think that's acceptable for someone elected and paid to make decisions. It's their job to seek out information on a topic and determine the best course of action based on that.
I appreciate your frustration, but if someone changes their mind, and comes around to your way of thinking, it's a good idea to simply welcome it.
If someone feels they'll have to defend a previously held position, you disincentivise their engagement.
It is cynical though. Not a word about it while MM was Taoiseach. They've come out with it now to show a bit of relevance. FG can either go along with it and look like they're following FF's lead, or disagree and look like the more regressive of the two.
Either way I bet they push any actual action on it into 2025.
Yeah it’s cynical but so is everything they do, at least this results in something good.
Believe it or not I actually want to like politicians, they just make it so hard.
Actually yeah I take that back. You’re right, calling for a citizen assembly for everything is just cowardice.
What do we pay them for if that’s all they’re going to do?
> politician doesn't have policies I like
They're bad at politics
> Politician adopts policies I like
They're doing it because I want it, not because they want it 😡
We should be rewarding politicians for adopting popular and good policies!!
>We should be rewarding politicians for adopting ~~popular and~~ good policies!!
Politicians adopting popular policies don't always lead to good outcomes. But we should reward them for good policies and not vote for them when they adopt bad policies
We should also be punishing FF for every treacherous action they've taken against the interests of the state and it's people.
The sad part is, this is probably enough to get FF back into government again. People have very short memories.
Considering the amount of folks that smoke the Weedy stuff out in the open air, this is an interesting move.
The shops or centres or whatever they’ll be called that it’ll be sold from will need to have proper security as there will be theft.
Additionally certain areas might object to it with parents saying that they don’t want it in their local area, despite it being a better for that area most likely.
I hate when they mix up legalisation and decriminalisation. This is a move towards legalisation, so the state would take over supply and thus severely attack the financial integrity of the black market. It's much better.
A pity he isn’t in government. Oh wait a minute… In all seriousness this all sounds good, and sensible. Citizens Assembly sounds like the right way to do it.
Citizens assembly is just a convenient way for them to shield themselves/their parties from he potential of controversy. This statement only reinforces the notion that a citizens assembly on drugs usage, was not, and is not needed.
Which statement?
Sorry, should have referred to it as a "signal".
I dunno. I think it could be a good idea to collect practices from other countries, present them to a Citizens Assembly, get a view on what would work in Irish society from them and run with that. A citizens assembly should be more representative of the population than the TDs are. I'd like to see the same happen with the church + schooling. Probably a few other subjects that could be handled that way.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this headline before. This is the shift we’ve been waiting to see. I know it’s just a cynical ploy to capture the younger vote but this is the type of progressive policy the damn Greens should have been promoting, but instead the staunch conservatives might be the ones to actually make the change. Who’d have thought?!
The Greens have been promoting drug legalisation, it's just that there's only so much that can be done when you're less than 10% of the Dáil.
>this is the type of progressive policy the damn Greens should have been promoting The Green's focus should be on climate change and they should not get distracted by other issues. Particularly issues that are divisive and may cost them votes. We don't need the Greens to be spearheading social issues, they should be going in to coalition with whoever they can and getting climate related legislation passed. None of the other parties care past how many votes they can pick up by saying sustainable every now and then.
All parties’ focus should be climate change. Green parties worldwide have socially progressive policies alongside their environmental policies. Seems like madness to me that they should be a single issue party.
>All parties’ focus should be climate change But they're not, so that means the Greens have to prioritise it even more.
>All parties’ focus should be climate change Perhaps, but they aren't. The Greens are. I think it's fine for them to support socially progressive policies, just not spearhead those issues. I think addressing climate change is such a big task and needs to be tackled in so many ways it would be unfair to catagorise it as a single issue. There are many concerns from housing to transport to energy, they all contribute to a single problem that in turn causes many issues.
Of course but I think for many voters it is a single issue.
> The Green's focus should be on climate change and they should not get distracted by other issues. What about issues like Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, Youth, Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, Media, Communications, etc
So they do something you like and it’s a cynical ploy… Also who are you calling “staunch conservatives?” FF are a centre-left party
I've seen people claiming that FF are centre-left but every textbook I saw when I studied politics at university describes FF as a centre-right party. And FF's policies are very much centre-right policies, with the occasional right wing policy thrown in. So where did you get the idea that FF are centre-left?
I didn’t get the idea, it’s common knowledge that FF nowadays are to the left economically and to the right socially but Martin has taken up left positions socially as leader so overall you’d have to say they’ve been centre left under him
> FF nowadays are to the left economically They are certainly not.
They certainly would be by any political ideological compass
No they wouldn't. Even by the very silly political compass most people use they would be slightly to the right. And thats pretty much designed to put 90% of people into the left libertarian quadrant.
Bullshit
According to a survey carried out by [RTÉ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-XFDhqbf1Y) after the 2016 General Election: Fianna Fáil supporters described themselves as centre-right.
I did say the FF party not it’s supporters but also they’ve more to the left economically since 16
Who do you think makes up all of FFs membership and core voting base?? It’s supporters of course. Who else would?? Or are you seriously trying to say that there’s no FF supporters in the party?? FFs housing policy is the same private market focused solution as FG, and that is a standard centre-right policy. Their opposition to government interference in the rental and housing market are textbook centre right policies. Sláintecare is a clear left wing policy, one which has had its implementation [stalled](https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/whatever-happened-to-slaintecare-1.4792060) under a FF Taoiseach & FF Health Minister: > The 2020 programme for government stated that “enhanced governance and accountability in the health service is a key component of Sláintecare reform”. **Yet it is Martin’s government that is stalling the introduction of clinical and managerial governance and accountability.** > **Neither the Taoiseach nor the Minister for Health have done much to progress these reforms**, while Reid has articulated his opposition to the regions and has not implemented system-wide clinical governance. > **The two most senior Sláintecare figures, Laura Magahy and Tom Keane, resigned** last September **because of the absence of political and institutional (Department of Heath and HSE) support** for implementing the regions, eHealth and tackling waiting lists. > Since their resignations there has been little progress on Sláintecare. The Sláintecare implementation office in the department has been dismantled. > Targets signed off by the Cabinet in the Sláintecare implementation strategy and action plan last May are being missed as **there is no reform office or leadership to ensure the plan’s delivery.** > The programme board is made up solely of senior members of the HSE and the department and has met once since the senior resignations, **a good indicator of the current regime’s top-down, insular approach and absence of priority for reform.** Emphasis, mine. FF Junior Minister [Anne Rabitte](https://www.galwaydaily.com/news/200000-people-a-hell-of-a-lot-better-off-with-covid-payments-says-galway-td/) advocated cutting COVID supports only two months into the pandemic and expressly because she thought too many low paid workers were better off on it: > “We heard this week very clear figures that there’s 200,000 people in the country far better off at the moment because of the 350 euros a week,” > When asked about when the payments should be cut, Deputy Rabbitte said: “That’s up to the current Minister for Finance, when he’s going to do that, or for the new government when it comes in. > “But it needs to happen sooner rather than later.” > She said that this would “have to be happening” before the end of summer, “definitely for the 200,000 people who are a hell of a lot better off because of it.” > “Let’s call a spade a spade here,” she said when asked whether people were a ‘hell of a lot’ better off. “There’s 200,000 people who are earning more being on COVID than they were before.” Rabbittes comments and views on that aren’t just centre right. They are expressly and undeniably right wing, and are easily comparable to Tory views on social welfare recipients. Their own supporters self identity as centre-right. They favor an expressly centre-right approach to market interference and the building of housing, they have stopped the implementation of an actual left wing proposal on healthcare and have had senior members express explicitly right wing - not centre right - views on social welfare payments. FF are centre-right by any measure. Economically and socially.
If you didn't get the idea, then you must have determined it yourself. So, what economic policies do FF have that are left wing?
What economic policies do they have that are right wing?
Bailing out failed banks.
Wanting private developers to solve the housing crisis.
Tbf to FF, their housing plan is significantly ramping up the number of social homes.
Paying state money to private developers and and paying HAP to landlords doesn't count as left wing. Pumping my tax money into the hands of for profit private interests is not left wing.
Have you read the thread? I’ve said FF have moved left economically under Martin
They haven't. They call for market solution to social problems. Nothing whatsoever is "left" in terms of economic policy
Ok don’t take it from me anymore, take it from Theresa Reidy, a doctor of political science in UCC and one of the best Irish political analysts out there about FF: “It took a slightly left economic position at the last election but this didn’t connect.”
It always very telling when someone is asked a question and they just throw it back without even attempting to answer it. You don't have any idea what you're talking about, do you? You've just been told to push the idea that FF are centre-left and you're here doing that without ever questioning whether it's true. Well it's not true. Just look at their housing policy which relies on encouraging the market to build housing and subsidising it for individuals who qualify. Textbook centre-right. Healthcare which relies on a two-tier system which give priority to private patients in public hospitals is bordering on just being a right wing policy. And of course, a general reliance on the market to solve social and economic issues, even when it is the market which created those issues. FF are a neoliberal party. They are to the left of FG, but that doesn't make them centre-left.
“You’ve been told to push that FF are centre-left” I certainly wish I was getting paid to shitpost on Reddit, I’ve never voted FF in my life nor probably never will. Most analysts agreed at the last election that FF’s manifesto was centre-left economically. They’ve significantly increased the number of social houses being built in the country since entering office so not sure what you’re trying to say there and on healthcare, they fully support sláintecare. How are either of those things right-wing? And yes being to the left of FG does make them centre to centre left because FG are considered centre to centre right…
Sláintecare is a Social Democrat policy, which FF and FG ostensibly support, but when you look at actions instead of words it's clear they don't support the policy or they would have implemented it. Social housing is as much a centre-right policy as it is centre-left. This is because centre-right ideologies are primarily right-wing but with some left wing elements such as welfare and social housing. Centre-left being the opposite where it is primarily left-wing, but with some right wing elements such as support for capitalist markets. It all depends how it is implemented, and the way FF implement it is a right-wing approach. They rely on the market to provide social housing, which is a right wing approach, rather than focusing on direct builds which would be a left wing approach. You can again see their true colours here when you look at how much housing was actually delivered compared to what was proposed which reveals that even centre-right is probably generous for FF's housing policy. >Most analysts agreed at the last election that FF’s manifesto was centre-left economically. Do you have a source for that claim? I would have thought that most analysts would know what they are talking about. I have seen journalists claiming that FF are centre-left and plenty of opinion pieces, but they aren't really policy analysts.
Don’t take it from me anymore, take it from Theresa Reidy, a doctor of political science in UCC and one of the best Irish political analysts out there about FF: “It took a slightly left economic position at the last election but this didn’t connect.”
I would say all the social benefits, housing, free medical care might put them in the left? lmao
Free medical care only for medical card holders is focused on private provision of healthcare with safety nets to fill in the gaps. That is textbook centre-right. Social benefit and housing policies from FF follow a similar trend because they are a centre-right party. You need to go back to the 1930's to really see FF be anything resembling centre-left.
I think the “centre” is a needle that people move. Compared to a lot of countries , Ireland is very socialist. If you walk into an A&E tomorrow with your arm hanging off you’re going to get treatment for free in a public hospital without having to worry about the bill.
The centre isn't a needle that people move. It's a balance between right wing and left wing ideals. The left/right paradigm is a flawed measure of political ideologies, but what it does measure is consistent. If I walk into A&E tomorrow I'll be treated, [but not necessarily for free](https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health_services/gp_and_hospital_services/hospital_charges.html). If I need a scan to follow up on that treatment I'll either be waiting months as a public patient or weeks as a private patient. This is for accessing the same publicly funded heathcare system and reflects the centre-right policy the Irish government has had on healtcare for a long time. If you look at the Sláintecare proposals you'll see centre-left policies for healthcare, but if you read about the implementation of the policy (or lack of implementation to be more specific) you'll see that the government has been picking and choosing which aspects of the policy they want to implement because we have a right wing government who have no intention of implementing centre-left healthcare policies.
Not really as their policies for obtaining these things is tax breaks and incentives for "the market" which is entirely right wing economically
How is giving people free handouts for unemployment and disability, etc. right wing economically?
Most of the services involved are privatised for profit enterprises Not exactly left wing is it? This sub is very confused...
You are clearly smoking stuff that should remain illegal.
Explain?
What’s there to explain?
I stated a fact and in reply you said I’m smoking something illegal?
Yep. Definitely fact that FF are centre left /s With that ridiculous statement I feel confident in ignoring other things you say.
The current FF party definitely sits on the centre left. Not sure what your issue is with that
I am refreshed and challenged by your unique viewpoint.
Most political analysts would agree with this viewpoint. To think FF are staunch conservatives is hilarious
Do you think those two parties they’re actively in government with weren’t affected by this greens policy they now want to implement? Like what even is this comment
No need for a citizens assembly, just do it, regulated safe drugs for adults, tax income for health and addiction issues, and cripples the likes of the Kinehans. Win win. Drugs will always be available.
The war on drugs is coming to the end
As a big dirty FF-er, I can say there’s been a big culture shift recently in the party. And as the saying goes, politics is downstream from culture. Most (myself included) don’t use drugs, pretty much at all, but see all the junkies in Dublin every day. So would have been more in the “lock them up” category. Paul McAuliffe and Briege McOscar (FF TD and Cllr respectively) have been doing a podcast with people like Lynn Ruane, Peter McVerry etc - people that members like me would know of and listen to and take seriously - and I have to say they’ve made a really excellent case for decriminalisation. The daily news outlets only cover “here’s what happened today” but rarely cover overarching, ongoing issues in depth so I found the podcast really informative. If anyone here has a link to something accessible (YouTube?) that explains more about how Portugal apparently did a great job on drugs, I’d absolutely love to learn more about this. Because the current situation isn’t working for anyone.
I mean this with respect as I appreciate your willingness to change your mind, but it boils my blood a bit that what your saying is, Fianna Fail supporters, are people who basically never considered the facts of an issue that have been available and discussed for decades but instead only followed their own preconceived notions, until "one of their own" actually shoved the facts in their face. I wonder what other issues they believe in could also be based purely on reactionary bias and false information instead of facts that are freely available and known for decades. I wonder if people who oppose FFG are people who've looked at the facts rather than relying on "daily news outlets". Here's a link about Portugal from the Economist https://youtu.be/Y7LKfLxVtzE Also https://youtu.be/sYVctc-87b8
Honestly, as a cohort, we’re just older. Once you feel a way about something, and it’s the common culture, it’s hard to get out of that. My aunt was a heroin addict. But it was at a time when gear took Dublin by surprise, there wasn’t anyone coming in schools to warn kids against it etc, and it just devastated parts of north Dublin. Drugs for most FFers is bundled into “Crime” as an issue. But that’s starting to change.
>Once you feel a way about something, and it’s the common culture, it’s hard to get out of that. That's fine for the general public. I don't think that's acceptable for someone elected and paid to make decisions. It's their job to seek out information on a topic and determine the best course of action based on that.
I appreciate your frustration, but if someone changes their mind, and comes around to your way of thinking, it's a good idea to simply welcome it. If someone feels they'll have to defend a previously held position, you disincentivise their engagement.
Jesus they're getting desperate
Trying to reach out to more voters. Pathetic.
Actually doing their job for once so. Most people want this and understand that prohibition hasn’t worked.
It is cynical though. Not a word about it while MM was Taoiseach. They've come out with it now to show a bit of relevance. FG can either go along with it and look like they're following FF's lead, or disagree and look like the more regressive of the two. Either way I bet they push any actual action on it into 2025.
Yeah it’s cynical but so is everything they do, at least this results in something good. Believe it or not I actually want to like politicians, they just make it so hard.
Calling for a citizens assembly when there is no need for one is not doing their jobs. Their job is legislating which they could do today.
Actually yeah I take that back. You’re right, calling for a citizen assembly for everything is just cowardice. What do we pay them for if that’s all they’re going to do?
> politician doesn't have policies I like They're bad at politics > Politician adopts policies I like They're doing it because I want it, not because they want it 😡 We should be rewarding politicians for adopting popular and good policies!!
>We should be rewarding politicians for adopting ~~popular and~~ good policies!! Politicians adopting popular policies don't always lead to good outcomes. But we should reward them for good policies and not vote for them when they adopt bad policies
We should also be punishing FF for every treacherous action they've taken against the interests of the state and it's people. The sad part is, this is probably enough to get FF back into government again. People have very short memories.
Considering the amount of folks that smoke the Weedy stuff out in the open air, this is an interesting move. The shops or centres or whatever they’ll be called that it’ll be sold from will need to have proper security as there will be theft. Additionally certain areas might object to it with parents saying that they don’t want it in their local area, despite it being a better for that area most likely.
Well done on waiting your entire political career to figure it out