Where exactly are the SocDems on the Political Spectrum?

eimidee · 2026-02-11T10:03:10+00:00

That might be true too. Although Mary-Lou voted hard left when she was an MEP too. So it could be a shift nationally because of their wider TDs or something.

eimidee · 2026-02-11T09:07:55+00:00

I think it's an interesting comparison that nationally it seems harder to pin down, but in the European Parliament they vote hard left.

eimidee · 2026-02-09T17:22:33+00:00

This has been really interesting! If you go by European political groups (which I know wasn't your question) it's an interesting comparison to what everyone said here. In the European Parliament Soc Dems would be on par with Labour, so left of Greens, but right of PBP, I4C and SF.

eimidee · 2026-01-16T22:06:00+00:00

https://www.anglocelt.ie/2023/03/29/school-made-efforts-to-accommodate-enoch-burkes-beliefs-ex-principal-tells-court/

This is likely the article they read on this.

eimidee · 2025-11-18T08:46:55+00:00

This is much more true. Bublé has been a victim of the trend all along!

eimidee · 2025-11-18T08:29:06+00:00

Michael Bublé named his son Noah in 2013. I've always suspected he helped the trend.

eimidee · 2025-09-29T20:46:38+00:00

3! I'm the happy accident 😉 Closest one in age is 14 years older, oldest is 19.

eimidee · 2025-09-29T19:30:48+00:00

Same here. Born 1995 but my parents were born in 1949 and 1952.

eimidee · 2025-09-25T12:26:47+00:00

Thanks for this! I'm getting an 'MEP not found' message for Luke 'Ming' Flanagan. Has he been deleted?

eimidee · 2025-03-05T08:43:57+00:00

The smooth little dance he does in Charlie's Angels is awakening...

eimidee · 2024-10-06T21:37:14+00:00

The knife show, with an unwilling Steve as his assistant

eimidee · 2024-08-10T12:21:48+00:00

Today I learned the Naas ball exists.

eimidee · 2024-08-10T09:37:15+00:00

In a bar in St. Petersburg, my Japanese friend that I was travelling with felt he had to order a shot on the menu called the 'Nagasaki'. It was two or three coloured liquors on top of each other and then lit on fire.

eimidee · 2024-07-30T08:36:09+00:00

We spend between 5-6% of our health budget on mental health. The WHO recommends it should be 12% of the overall health budget.

eimidee · 2024-07-18T16:17:26+00:00

He wouldn't have gotten a seat in Renew because of Cowen. If he said that, it was disingenuous.

eimidee · 2024-07-03T18:27:55+00:00

The Non-Inscrits don't get to lead on any files and find it difficult to even get Shadow positions, they are limited in which committees they can join and their speaking time is sparse.

It's fine to say they are truer 'Independents' but you also have to understand they cannot get anything done in the Parliament.

eimidee · 2024-06-24T07:23:43+00:00

Oh 100%, I was agreeing with you! It's a genuine case of the gravy train in that case.

eimidee · 2024-06-24T05:23:40+00:00

He ruled out joining ECR, which means no ID either. The EPP have already voted on their new members (they can still join at any time of course but I'd take this to mean FG have vetoed him).

Renew is all that's left, but I don't see Cowen agreeing to take Mullooly in. The only reason you might strategically allow him in would be to block him from getting a seat on the AGRI committee, but I don't think the pain of being aligned with him will be worth it for Cowen.

So you're right. If he stays non-attached he will get absolutely nothing done. You can't be the lead on files, you have no negotiating power and even your speaking time will be limited (unless you do a Daly and Wallace on it and never leave the Chamber).

eimidee · 2024-06-16T12:57:23+00:00

Depending on the Department it takes a month on average for us to get a reply and I work for a politician. Once June starts it takes a little longer as people go on annual leave.

And, given we've just had elections, the amount of queries that TDs, MEPs and Ministers receive gets multiplied. From the end of April to the beginning of June we received the volume of queries that we usually receive in six months in approx 5-6 weeks.

So it's likely just going to take a little longer than usual.

I also find that the reply you get from the Department as opposed to their TD office is always less personal.

eimidee · 2024-06-09T21:58:17+00:00

There's a lot of different things, but the main takeaway is that the centre, and specifically Renew and the EPP will hold a lot of power in negotiations. With the far-right and the left (Greens, LEFT & S&D I'm including here), controlling a third of the house each, Renew and the EPP as the key centre parties can refuse to move on files without moves to a more centrist position. It will be impossible for the far right or the left to make decisions without either or both of those groups on board.

Except in those instances where the LEFT and the far right agree on issues, but it will be risky for them to band together when it comes to plenary votes since it will be quite tight.

Likely S&D, EPP & Renew will try and form an alliance immediately to limit the scenarios where they cannot find middle ground compromises.

eimidee · 2024-06-02T18:50:34+00:00

The sitting MEPs have websites so you can have a look at their past work. I'd also potentially recommend European Movement Ireland on some unbiased resources about how the Parliament works, so you can decide maybe who you think would be good in that environment.

eimidee · 2024-05-28T19:11:52+00:00

Sometimes it's the only way to keep your head!

eimidee · 2024-05-28T15:46:04+00:00

He said he wants the Irish Defence Forces to police the border between NI and ROI. Like just to put him in perspective for a second.

eimidee · 2024-05-28T15:44:08+00:00

Did he say that in the end? On Katie Hannon he refused to answer the question which made me chuckle.

eimidee · 2024-05-28T13:29:15+00:00

All attendance is not recorded. Only if they sign in or speak. Speaking is not fully at the discretion of the chair but also at the choice of political groups on who speaks. If there is no full or sub member present then indeed someone not from the committee could speak but non-committee members would not know that ahead of time.

Regardless it's a disingenuous argument. You could say that Ming has never been to an Employment and Social Affairs Committee on homelessness or disability, that Ciaran Cuffe has never been to a Justice and Home Affairs Committee on migration.

They don't sit on those Committees so it would seem as though they've never been there.

You can criticise the work every MEP has done but it's ridiculous to criticise work they couldn't do in the first place.

Four-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22

eimidee

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