FF policies

[evercloserunion]

So I'm on the Fianna Fáil website but I can't find an "Ideas" or "What we stand for" section like most political organization websites have. Now, maybe because FF are the ruling political party it is presumed that their policies and ideals can be derived from the actions of the government. But ideology and practicality can be two very different things, and yet ideology is important when voting for or joining a political party. As the recession sets in and the FF government resorts to prudent economic policies in order to protect Irish interests in the long term it can be particularly hard to derive their core ideals from their actions. Presumably FF are not, for example, making cutbacks on spending in the education sector because they would like to see a worse-funded education system, though I do realize that prudent and pragmatic management of the economy is in itself a policy. What I want to know is what kind of Ireland Fianna Fáil would like to see in the future; what kind of Ireland they would strive towards and how they plan to get there.

Can anyone link me to a FF manifesto or something of the sort, or is there somewhere on the site that I'm missing?

[Cael]

So I'm on the Fianna Fáil website but I can't find an "Ideas" or "What we stand for" section like most political organization websites have. Now, maybe because FF are the ruling political party it is presumed that their policies and ideals can be derived from the actions of the government. But ideology and practicality can be two very different things, and yet ideology is important when voting for or joining a political party. As the recession sets in and the FF government resorts to prudent economic policies in order to protect Irish interests in the long term it can be particularly hard to derive their core ideals from their actions. Presumably FF are not, for example, making cutbacks on spending in the education sector because they would like to see a worse-funded education system, though I do realize that prudent and pragmatic management of the economy is in itself a policy. What I want to know is what kind of Ireland Fianna Fáil would like to see in the future; what kind of Ireland they would strive towards and how they plan to get there.

Can anyone link me to a FF manifesto or something of the sort, or is there somewhere on the site that I'm missing?

FF stands for brown envelopes, whip-a-rounds, dig-outs and licking Gombeen ass. There is really nothing more to know.

[evercloserunion]

Can we limit the responses to productive posts by FF members please.

[Binx]

I am not a FFer but I can tell you that there ideology is loose at best. Economically they are committed to free market capitalism in the good times and swing left in the bad times. I would put them down as socially conservative

However, the thing about FF is that they have their ear to the ground and have a very tight grassroots organization and their truest ideology is power above principle. They don't have any sort of mission statement or general ideas on their website because they don't want them to be held against them when the electorates mood changes. I say this in all objectivity with no malice intended.

[derry_ff]

A good thread. In relation to the "What we stand for" part of our website, I totally agree, we used to have a policy section and ive emailed the webmaster many times but to no avail. I think FF policies policies try to underpin the mix of its many different members before we start. You stated correctly about economic prudence. I have an 07 manifesto about here somewhere, im sure there is some sort of website that states the key policies. As a northern FF member, the kind of Ireland I would like to see, concentrates on progressive economic and social policies specifically for the six counties region. We have different problems, different benefits and we need firstly to organise in the 6 counties properly, the potential is there and so are the members. We need to concentrate on putting pressure on the British govt to end loyalist paramilitarism, and engage with unionism more to resolve on the ground issues like flags, like heritage, parades etc. In terms of the economy, we do invest greatly in Northern services such as roads etc and many youth and community groups do benefit from Irish govt funding under FF. We should be promoting NI as non-partisan as possible, for the good of all the people and I think as has been raised in the past, NI should have a certain number of Senators in the Oireachtas either proposed by the Taoiseach if FF are in power, and pushed by FF if that is not the case. Politically we should be properly pointing out the faults of SF not keeping quiet, they are after all our political rivals. We should if the time ever comes, be voting for measures which will benefit people in the North if we ever sit on Northern councils, no matter who proposes them.

[dub006]

FF policies amount to how much can we steal from the people and get away with it.

[washington]

I was looking for that a few years ago Redstar but like you..to no avail. However, while reading Dermot Ferriter's 'Judging Dev' the other night ..lo and behold! ...I came across a document that Dev composed in 1926/27 outlining the 'Aims' of the soldiers of destiny. Aim no (1) United Ireland (2)Restoration of the Gaelic language..can't remember three and four but it was some humbug about social equality...I'll post it in when I get home... Anyway on (1) and (2) you can hardly call the FF experiment a roaring success even after eighty plus years.

[digoutday]

FF stands for, Followed the leader and obey his wishes, not mater what show blind loyalty to the leader, even if he is a lying crook.

[code twinkle]

So I'm on the Fianna Fáil website but I can't find an "Ideas" or "What we stand for" section like most political organization websites have. Now, maybe because FF are the ruling political party it is presumed that their policies and ideals can be derived from the actions of the government. But ideology and practicality can be two very different things, and yet ideology is important when voting for or joining a political party. As the recession sets in and the FF government resorts to prudent economic policies in order to protect Irish interests in the long term it can be particularly hard to derive their core ideals from their actions. Presumably FF are not, for example, making cutbacks on spending in the education sector because they would like to see a worse-funded education system, though I do realize that prudent and pragmatic management of the economy is in itself a policy. What I want to know is what kind of Ireland Fianna Fáil would like to see in the future; what kind of Ireland they would strive towards and how they plan to get there.

Can anyone link me to a FF manifesto or something of the sort, or is there somewhere on the site that I'm missing?

Well if they've been in govt for over ten years I'm pretty sure this is the kind of Ireland they hope to have in the future.

This is blatantly the Ireland they have striven for, and if it's not then any aspirations they might have are meaningless as they clearly don't have the capacity to carry out their goals.

[evercloserunion]

Thanks Binx and in particular derry_ff for the only constructive posts in this thread. derry_ff, I was looking more for ROI-based policies/ideals but your insights are very interesting (and to a large extent I suppose a party would have the same core principles north and south of the border).

I actually found a link to their 2007 election manifesto at http://www.fiannafail.ie/downloads/Manifesto.pdf though there doesn't seem to be a link to it on the website (I found it on a blog after Googling it). I'll have a look over it over the next day or two. Can anyone tell me if it is still representative of the party's stance or is it a bit out-of-date?