I love it. Dan and Braz seem a little excited about it. Chicken little says the sky is falling due to this affront to Irish politics. *yawn*
Kevin Rafter offered two of them for sale in the Tribune. I hope he makes some cash.
Damien Mulley
Invisible people have invisible rights
Damien Mulley is proudly powered by
WordPress
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).
Leaving the politics aside for a moment, you can’t tell ebay that someone is doing something illegal without having to register with them. That’s a bit rich.
I can think of a better affront to Irish politics. Namely, Irish politics.
Dan,
If you sign up with Ebay you can register your dissatisfaction on this matter.
;o)
It’s gone already…that took long.
Hah, the auction should have gone ahead. The Seannad should be voted for by the people, all the people, not just a select group of elites.
Imagine some one with pass maths in the Leaving Cert having more clout in the seannad election than everyone except the Taoiseach.
I tried selling my spare Dáil votes (yes, plural) and couldn’t get a buyer. Why are Seanad ones more saleable?
It’s illegal, plain and simple. I’ve posted an update with the relevant legal standing.
I’m not one for saying the sky is falling but if we start treating the Seanad as something that anyone can buy a seat in, well that’s one of our houses of parliament down the tubes. How long before the other follows ? (I’ll admit that given the previous behaviour of certain TDs this can probably be argued but I’ll stand my ground in the hope of the now and of the future).
Democracy is a fragile old system and I really think that you should take a pause and considered the long view implications of your attitude towards it. I’m no fan of the government but I do believe we’ve got the best system going and I’m going to fight tooth and nail to keep that system as open and transparent as possible, I’m no idealist merely a pragmatist.
Since when were the seannad elections democratic. 90 percent of the population can’t even vote in them..
That is not democracy
squid, I would agree that the Seanad elections are undemocratic but the principle of votes not be for sale underpins the Dail and Seanad and if we allowed it in one that how long before it happened in the other.
One other peculiar aspect is that we have had for the last week or two, and rightly so, reporting in the media of the various inducements (completely unrelated to their voting intentions I’m sure ) being sent out to councillors by Seanad candidates. Is the selling of votes the egg and the buying the chicken in this instance. This isn’t the election of the Mayor of Puck or the Lady of the Laune we’re talking about here.
[…] a Stopped Clock Tells the Right Time Twice a DaySkip to contentHomeRigging the SeanadI had heard bits and pieces about somebody selling a vote for the Irish senate on eBay, and was surprised to see the […]