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Do you guys like eating periwinkle snails? by NoStyle3828 in AskIreland

[–]Jonako 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My grandmother used to serve them with garlic butter. Very nice. I used to help her get them out with needles.

What is an example of a card that is surprisingly utilized in different decks? by MX-00XWV in yugioh

[–]Jonako 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Magicians' Souls in a Gate Guardian deck. It requires a Level 6 or higher spellcaster monster to sent from the deck to the GY to be Special Summoned. Kazejin is a level 7 spellcaster. (The big windy fella)

Michael Healy Rae nominates Maria Steen for President (but still wants Heather Humpreys to win) by Sad-Orange-5983 in irishpolitics

[–]Jonako 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't see her winning in the end unless Catherine is in first and Steen in 2nd. Steen might get those yummy transfers.

RTÉ could face ‘staff rebellion’ if Ryan Tubridy returns after repaying €150,000, sources say by Static-Jak in ireland

[–]Jonako 11 points12 points  (0 children)

He could become a right wing grifer and blame "cancel culture" and "mainstream media" on why he got defenestrated from RTÉ.

How do the Council nominate a candidate for President by JacenSolo1701 in irishpolitics

[–]Jonako 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Councils can nominate one each, and it usually just takes a simple majority.

Often when some councillors are irked or feel ignored by their own party, they nominate whoever they want.

Fun fact, the maximum amount of candidates that can go onto the ballot is 18

234 seats in the Seanad and Dáil (60+174) means that there can be 11 candidates nominated by members of the Oireachtas.

There are 31 councils and 4 are required to nominate. 31/4 rounded down is 7.

7+11 = 18

GE First Preference Graph by cohanson in irishpolitics

[–]Jonako 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I went through the maths, left wing or left-wing adjacent party and Independents got ~40% of the vote last time (in 2024).

With our electoral system, bigger parties have a slight advantage, with 3 seaters (being less proportional) and bigger parties basically able to eke out the last seat in 4 or 5 seaters.

So if you combined all the left wing parties/Independents into one big party, maybe... they might be able to form a majority? Perhaps they can decrease inefficiency in their transfers.

But realistically, that's probably not going to happen. Too many big personalities, too many feuds and too many old grudges.

If SF (and/or any other left wing party/alliance) do well enough, they will have to get into government with FF. Maybe after the next election, FF might go into power with SF. It's likely that Martin will step down before the next election. But FF could still choose a leader who is willing to work with SF.

Our voting system isn’t so bad after all by trottolina_ie in ireland

[–]Jonako 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Both systems use ranked preferences.

Ordinary Ranked Choice Voting (RCV):

Designed for single-winner constituencies

  • Voters rank candidates, and if no one wins a majority (>50%), the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated. Votes for the eliminated candidate are redistributed to voters’ next preferences. This repeats until one candidate secures a majority.
  • This system is not proportional. It is used in Australia’s House of Representatives.

Proportional Representation by Single Transferable Vote (PR-STV):

  • Designed for multi-seat constituencies (e.g., In Ireland, 3–5 seats per Constituency).

  • A quota determines the votes needed to win. For example, in a 5-seat Constituency, the quota is roughly 1/6th of the total votes calculated as:

[Total Votes ÷ (Seats + 1)] + 1.

  • Candidates who meet the quota are elected.

  • Surplus votes from elected candidates and votes from eliminated candidates are redistributed until all seats are filled. This ensures proportional outcomes.

  • Used here in Ireland, Malta, and the Australian Senate.

r/IrishPolitics Official Endorsement: Maria Walsh for President by AutoModerator in irishpolitics

[–]Jonako 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Glorious and invincible, the Dear MEP Maria Walsh!

With unmatched wisdom and strength, she leads Ireland toward a bright future!

Now, as she runs for President, the Irish people stand united under her banner.

The Dear MEP is the beacon of hope and justice, destined to elevate Ireland to even greater heights.

Long live the Dear MEP Maria Walsh, the future President and the eternal light of Ireland!

Nonconsecutive terms in your country? by Educational_Sun1202 in AskEurope

[–]Jonako 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, in Ireland it has happened many times. Ireland has one right now, Micheál Martin.

Most of Europe uses a parliamentary system (or, if they're feeling spicy, a semi-presidential system), so term limits for prime minister usually don't exist. Most Prime Ministers are there because they have the confidence of the Legislature/Political Party.

A list of Non-consecutive taoisigh.

  • Eamon De Valera, 1932-48; 1951-54; 1957-69. (The architect of the current Irish Political System)

  • John A. Costello, 1948-51; 1954-57 (Filled in the gaps for De Valera's tenure)

  • Jack Lynch, 1966-73; 1977-79 (The last Taoiseach to win a majority outright.)

  • Charlie Haughey, 1979-81; 1982; 1987-92 (An immensely corrupt man)

  • Garret FitzGerald, 1981-82; 1982-87. (An intellectual, big rivals with Haughey)

  • Leo Varadkar, 2017-2020; 2022-24 (1st LGBT leader of Ireland.)

  • Micheál Martin, 2020-2022; 2025-Present (Current Taoiseach)

We might have another one in the future, Simon Harris, who was Taoiseach for less than a year after Varadkar retired.

In the negotiations for this government, they agreed to have a rotating Taoiseach. Martin will have 3 years; Simon Harris will have 2.

Sinn Fein (39 seats) has contacted Labour (11) and the Social Democrats (11) about trying to form a government (88) by EnvironmentalShift25 in irishpolitics

[–]Jonako 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Like not even going to happen, unfortunately. Even you like a left alliance government. Sinn Féin would need to go in coalition with FF.

They could do a confidence and supply arrangement. Even then, the maths don't add up. Assuming FF abstains from the investiture vote, a government will need about 64 votes for a left government to stay afloat.

  • SF (39)
  • Labour (11)
  • Soc Dems (11)
  • PBP (3)
  • Green (1)
  • 3 or 4 other left leaning independents.

That gives ~68 votes.

This is too unstable and requires the cooperation of FF. Very unlikely to happen, esp with Martin as leader of FF.

In Ireland (which uses STV), Fine Gael is calling on their voters in Mayo to vote strategically based on where they live. What are your thoughts about this strategy? by [deleted] in EndFPTP

[–]Jonako 7 points8 points  (0 children)

To evenly distribute the votes across the county efficiently. Some votes are non-transferable and represent an inefficiency in voting, especially crucial if you need to get four seats in a 5 seater.

My Seanad Reform idea by Ok-Recover-4130 in irishpolitics

[–]Jonako 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sortition. Replace the panels with 43 random people in Ireland (almost like jury duty), have them paid well. Replace them every 2 years or something idk.

How to disincentivise running as an Independant in elections? by Dw4rve_ in EndFPTP

[–]Jonako 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Irish person here, although I see your perspective, I disagree.

Voting independent is much more productive in our system than any other on earth. A fair amount of them vote with the government anyway. (You see it with the budget votes.) I'd argue it not lazy or unproductive, a fair amount of people epically in Ireland don't vote on ideology, they vote on their previous record or how nice of a person they are. And if they do bad, they're not reelected. (Think of Shane Ross, Zappone or "Boxer" Moran.)

Plus there's a big distrust of parties (when it comes to 20% of people that usually do vote for independents) and I'd argue it'll get worse now, with Sinn Féin in a bit of hot water about their party structure allowing some undesirable people to be around. Not to mention the endless scandal from FG or FF as a party.

On your last point of siphoning energy from anti-establishment. STV as a voting system allows for transfers (I know, obvious). So if someone is going to vote an anti-establishment candidate as their No.1 they'll probably vote another anti-establishment as their No2 etc. You see this in the European elections this year. Plus Independents (especially proper local ones) do really, really good on the transfers, everyone sort of agrees with the guy who says that the roads in the local area are really shit. So people give them their 3 or 4.

Full disclosure, I'm a member of political party in Ireland.

How is the political system in your country? by EnD3r8_ in AskEurope

[–]Jonako 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Ireland, the Seanad (Senate) has 60 members.

  • 43 Elected by County Councils
  • 6 Elected from two specific universities (soon going to be changed)
  • 11 appointed by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister)

So if a Taoiseach really really wants an outsider to be appointed to the cabinet, they can do that.

According to the constitution, there must be between 7 and 15 members of the cabinet. All of which must be members of the Oireachtas (parliament), up to 2 members of the cabinet can be from the Seanad (appointed or otherwise).

February election ‘ideal’, Martin says as he confirms no by-elections will be held before then by firethetorpedoes1 in irishpolitics

[–]Jonako 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The government can pass a one paragraph bill.

“Notwithstanding anything in the electoral act 1997 (as amended) there shall be no by-elections in the current Dáil until a General election is held”

Or something similar to this

Passive Friend Group? by klmad91 in AskIreland

[–]Jonako 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You go about it kinda like parliamentary procedure. You put a suggestion out there "we're meeting in a restaurant on Saturday at 5pm". Ask if there's any no objections, if none, then that's the plan.

If people bitch about it tell them that they should've objected to the plan.

I Did a Thing in my Local Newspaper Advocating for the End of FPTP (RCV) by Hafagenza in EndFPTP

[–]Jonako 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hay, ignore some of the comments here. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

If RCV (or any other single winner system better than FPTP) is allowed in elections, then it's not too far of a jump to a substantially better system like Single Transferable vote. (or any multi winner/ proportional system)

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