It's time for some campaigning! (Some) Limerick East Candidates Answer Some Questions

Over at Newstalk, Tom Dunne has put together a list of questions to ask any politicians that come canvassing to your door. Quite good ones too, ranging from such topics as the merits of Ford Fiestas versus Ministerial Mercs, Ireland's morbidly obese public sector cats, to the good old HSE. While I too, over the last couple of years, have thought of a fair few questions and or rants to put to our elected members and those seeking office, owing to sheer forgetfulness and not carrying a pen and paper with me everywhere I go, don't have said questions and rants to hand. So instead, I took the easy way out, and last night re-directed Tom Dunne's questions to all the declared candidates running in the Limerick East electoral area.

For the purposes of this exercise I only asked the first eleven questions, which I e-mailed last night. I'm going to publish their replies here, as they come in.

First off the mark was Cllr Joe Leddin, Labour , here was his reply:

James,

Labour will shortly launch our universal health insurance plan which will be centered around the medical needs of a patient and not their ability to pay,

Labour has launched a policy reform document outlining 140 proposed changes on how Government does its business

Labour will launch our economic plan including €500 m jobs fund on thursdat next, we opposed the ban bailout and were the only party to vote against same

Limerick has reduced from 5 to 4 seats so if other 5/4 seat constituencies were also reduced then we would reduce the dail by between 30/40 T.D.'s, i will be attending the St Patricks day parade in Limerick

Our website is updating policy documents on a daily basis if you require additional information

regards

So a fairly comprehensive reply then, not sure if all eleven questions were addressed in their entirety though.

Next up came Michael Noonan TD, who took a brief is best approach:

Dear James,

Thank you very much for your E Mail which I have forwarded to our policy
unit for direct answer.

Yours sincerely,
MICHAEL NOONAN, T.D.

So make what you like of the responses. Decide for yourself is a rushed together personal response better than a neat and short reply passing the buck onto an advisor. Perhaps a handwritten letter would have been better, but then time is ticking down to February 25th. I'll be posting any other responses I get here.