WORKING FOR OUR FUTURE – Fine Gael’s aim here is simple: create 80,000 jobs over four years, focussing on and investing in areas which have most potential for job creation, and making it easier for employers to create jobs. FG will invest €7bn in water, green energy and broadband, providing essential infrastructure, and creating jobs in the construction sector with spin-off employment in the services sector.

FG also plans to cut employers PRSI, abolish the departure tax, aiding the tourism sector and change the welfare system to encourage employment. We will reverse the cuts to the minimum wage, as it does nothing to encourage job creation and only hits the most vulnerable straight in the pocket. Up to 60,000 unemployed graduates will emigrate this year. That’s why FG plans to create a National Internship programme where unemployed graduates can gain valuable experience, while continuing their study, being paid for the job they are doing.

FIXING THE DEFICIT – Over the next four years we need to slash our budget deficit. We need to reduce it by €15 billion over this period, and we can do this in one of two ways, increasing tax, or reducing expenditure. FG will make sure cutting wasteful expenditure takes priority, and will not increase income tax.

Other areas key to FG’s plan for recovery are vital to reducing the deficit, especially reform of the public sector, reducing wastage and duplication and to ensure Government departments are run efficiently, with the relevant minister held to account if they don’t. FG will take on the big vested interests that have contributed to the current crisis, the bankers, the bondholders, the developers and the unions.

FAIRCARE – FG’s health plan means we will treat patients according to need, not how much money is in their back pocket. We are spending €17bn every year on a system that doesn’t work and needs reform. Our aim over a 10 year period is to introduce Universal Health Insurance, modelled on the Dutch system, ranked number one in Europe, despite not spending any more than we do.

This will lead to a single tier health system where all patients are treated equally, and will provide free GP care for all. FairCare will slash hospital waiting lists, free up hospital beds, introduce “Money follows the patient” budgeting for hospitals and introduce a proper system of primary care with greater emphasis on diagnosis and treatment in the community. Ireland needs a healthcare system it can be proud of. FairCare gives us that.

REINVENTING GOVERNMENT – Our public sector is too large, too expensive and inefficient. FG will improve the quality of public services, prioritising frontline services – that is teachers, health professionals, Gardaí, Local Authority services and will streamline systems, eliminating red tape, duplication and waste.

We will make managers accountable for their areas and ministers accountable for their departments. FG’s Public Sector Strategy will reduce the cost of the Public Sector by 10% over the next four years. This will save €5bn by eliminating waste and abolishing 145 quangos. We propose 30,000 administrative and bureaucratic positions can be eliminated by natural wastage, voluntary redundancy and relocation to create a better, more efficient and a more customer focused public service.

NEW POLITICS – FG has ambitious plans for rebuilding the country, but we must first start with our Government. This will be the first step towards creating the Ireland we all want.

FG’s strategy is to reduce Oireachtas members by 38%, cap their wages, as well as those of public servants, hold a referendum to abolish the Seanad and replace State cars for Ministers with a car pool system.

We will also reform the Dáil itself. We will make it more transparent and make politicians more accountable to the Dáil and to the people. We will provide a reformed Dáil that can challenge Government decisions, better local government and a Citizens assembly will be established to address major Constitutional issues.

UCC Young Fine Gael Society

We wish to use this opportunity to ask that before each of us enters the privacy of the ballot box on February 25^th, that the role of the Green Party both in Government and in Irish life more generally be given due reflection.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN GOVERNMENT – Whilst we were bitterly disappointed to see our legislation on firm action on climate change and banning corporate donations fail at the last moment due to the demise of the 30th Dáil last month, we remain proud of our record in office. Our term in Government began in 2007, when six bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Green TDs set about putting Ireland on a path to a sustainable future. Who could blame us for seizing the opportunity to advance our agenda in a tangible way in Government?

And we did. Our TDs punched well above their weight in Government, instigating a raft of reforms across a large swathe of policy areas. Amongst our proudest achievements in office include fundamental reform of planning in Ireland, which will put an end to the days of dodgy re-zonings and which will restore faith in the planning process.

We passed the historic- if imperfect- Civil Partnership Act, ensured that third level fees regime were not re-introduced, kept primary school class sizes static and ensured that Ireland’s commitments to foreign aid increases remain on track. Our cycle to work scheme has incentivised thousands of commuters to ditch their cars whilst we have made Ireland a test-bed for the advent of the electric vehicle.

We have enabled the retrofitting of thousands of homes, and trebled Ireland’s renewable energy production- pushing us to 2^nd place in Europe. As the only political party in Ireland that neither solicits nor accepts corporate ‘donations’, we are the only party who aren’t beholden to developers or any other vested interests. Every cent we spend on this campaign is clean.

THE NEED FOR GREEN – Ireland’s present economic and social crisis demands a new kind of politics. In a world where the old certainties about the steady march of economic progress have collapsed; environmental and social degradation continues to blight our nation and our planet, it is the Green movement that offers the radicalism we need.

We are the only party that understands the incontestable idea that unlimited economic growth cannot occur on a finite planet. If we continue down our present path, the environmental crises we will face in the future will make our present economic predicament look like a mere speed bump. As part of a massive international political Green movement, regardless of the outcome of this election, the Green Party will endure.

A Progressive Democrats-style meltdown will not happen and cannot happen for the simple reason that we have something they never had; a purpose that gives our existence meaning. Whilst it is the state of the Irish economy that is understandably on the lips of voters, we believe that there is a bigger picture: Two thirds of humanity remains in deep poverty, whilst the other third continues to accelerate the process of pillage, plunder and poisoning of our planet.

Our founding principles of linked and interwoven commitments to social, economic, and environmental justice worldwide are not just more relevant than ever – they have become a necessity. We leave Government chastened by the experience of power, rueful about some mistakes made, and sorrowful about the pain that so many have had to bear as a result of this prolonged economic crisis.

But we remain proud in the knowledge that in the most hostile of circumstances, we have made a positive difference to this country. We ask that when you pick up the pencil on February 25th, you remember that not all politicians and political parties are the same.

UCC Young Greens Society

ECONOMY AND PUBLIC FINANCES – The aim Fianna Fáil (FF) has had over the last three years has been to return our country to the path of sustainable economic growth in which jobs can be created and protected. The decisions we have taken have been difficult. But they have been the right decisions for our citizens. FF believes that we cannot tax ourselves out of a recession.

We believe in a fair tax system, a tax system that will help us maintain essential services, not hinder economic growth. We believe that through a two thirds reduction in public spending we can bridge the gaping hole in our public finances. The other third shall be raised through taxes, with everyone contributing according to their means, the more you earn the more you pay and no one is sheltered.

The repair of our public finances will enable us to win back the confidence of business and consumers in our economy. FF have revamped the system of banking regulation and have brought in new regulators with proven expertise to make sure that past failings will never be repeated. Every decision we have taken has been guided by the need to maintain a financial system that will serve the needs of the economy.

The EU/IMF programme for the banking system builds upon and intensifies our approach to fixing the banks. It provides the funding to restructure and recapitalise our banking system so that the banks remain safe places for deposits and can support the economic recovery by lending to creditworthy businesses and households. FF’s National Recovery Plan will build on the many positive aspects of our economy so that we can return to a sustainable growth path.

The EU/IMF Programme is based on our National Recovery Plan. The measures it contains will remove barriers to growth; boost our competitiveness; restore order to our public finances and repair our banking system so that it can serve the recovery. Our future prosperity rests upon the implementation of the Plan over the next four years. We wrote the Plan. We believe in the Plan. We are the party best placed to implement it.

A PLAN FOR JOBS – Restoring confidence for investors and consumers will have a very direct positive impact on job creation.  We will do more to help people who are unemployed and businesses who want to create jobs. The core principles which underpin our proposals to create jobs are firstly to help individuals with education and training opportunities which can get them back into employment.

Secondly to promote Ireland’s position as a world centre for high-technology enterprise by investing in the training and finally research which are vital to this objective and sustain high levels of capital investment in employment-intensive projects which boost the competitiveness of the economy. FF believes that employment can be created and sustained in sectors such as: transport, energy, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, agri-foods, and tourism.

POLITICAL REFORM – FF believes that the essential way to assist recovery and ensure future sustainability in public policy is to radically reform the procedures for choosing and operating both parliament and government. FF believes in a serious reform in the electoral system.

Moving away and going forward from the current system FF believes in a new system that retains the direct link between TDs and the communities they serve and ensures that more national considerations are also represented in the Oireachtas.

Therefore specifically we support a mixed system of single-seat constituencies elected through the system of single transferable vote and a top-up national list which will ensure proportional representation. We also support a gender balance in the National List.

IN CONCLUSION – We in FF believe we have the strongest policies and the right agenda to bring Ireland back to sustainable economic growth. We believe in strong sustainable government who are not afraid to stand up and make the difficult choices. With the people of Ireland behind us, FF believes that we can sow the seeds for a Newer, Fairer and Better Ireland.

UCC Fianna Fáil Society

JOBS – or more precisely a jobs stimulus package forms one of the main tenets of LP policy. Growing the economy and getting people back into employment is one of the LP’s primary concerns. There are nearly 450,000 people on the live register. Labour proposes to ring-fence €500 million for a dedicated jobs fund which aims to create jobs and training places for jobs-seekers in various sectors of the economy including; funding for jobs in green technology, tourism, food and creative industries; the creation of 30,000 graduate and apprentice internships and 60,000 trainee places; the creation of 80,000 construction jobs in school building, wind and ocean energy and geothermal projects; and a Strategic Investment Bank to provide funding for critical infrastructure and Small and Medium Businesses.

Innovation – Labour will establish an Innovation Strategy Agency and create a network of Technology Research Centres such as the Tyndall Centre in UCC, which are focused on applied technological research and commercialisation of intellectual property, to be located in appropriate higher-education institutions.

Green Energy - Labour proposes to overcome the shortcomings in Ireland’s current energy policy by coordinating the input from both the public and private sector through a Coordinating Policy Office within the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.  Labour believes that the right energy policies could deliver 80,000 jobs in various sectors. For example, a National Retrofit Programme of the estimated 1.2 million homes in need of improving their energy efficiency has the potential to employ up to 30,000 construction workers.

Digital Ireland – Despite the often touted rhetoric of the Smart Economy, the failure over the past decade to roll out adequate connectivity has left Ireland languishing well behind our international competitors in the broadband stakes. Key Labour proposals for a Digital Ireland include: prioritising investment in Next Generation Broadband by facilitating the appropriate regulatory culture; instructing ComReg to ensure all suppliers provide regular data on speeds throughout their networks; and encouraging Cloud Computing and improving e-Government.

REFORM – Labour’s major reform policy will change our broken political system. Labour will bring better Government and better Politics through a strong Dáil and public sector reform.

Key proposals for reform include: the abolition of the Seanad, strengthen the Dáil and make it more independent, with greater powers to hold the Government to account, a longer working day, a longer working week, and fewer holidays; a Constitutional Convention to draw up a new Constitution for Ireland in the 21st century; restoring democratic accountability to local government, and devolve more decision-making powers to local communities; reducing the number of quangos and duplication of agencies and government departments; making Government departments and agencies accountable for meeting joined-up government objectives.

FAIRNESS – In Healthcare – Labour proposes the establishment of a universal healthcare system to replace the two tier unfair system. Labour will reform the health system to achieve a genuine shift towards primary care by 2014, addressing one of the fundamental weaknesses of the Irish health care system. Labour will end the two-tier system in hospital care, extending access to all on the same basis as the privately insured, and making the hospital system more efficient, with full Universal Hospital Care Insurance operational by 2016.

Fairer Education System – Literacy is the key that unlocks a child’s education. It is the most basic, and the most important, life skill that our schools teach. Labour wants to ensure that no child leaves an Irish school without being able to read and write.

Third Level Fees- Abolished by Labour in the 1990s. Recently increased registration fees have placed an unfair financial burden on students. Labour will seek to provide a fairer and more equitable means of funding third level education without placing the burden on students and their families.

Fairer Tax System – Labour’s tax system is based on fairness. Labour will not increase income tax on persons earning less than 100,000 euro. We will re-examine the Universal Social Charge as the current system places an unfair burden on lower and middle income earners.

UCC Labour Society

THERE IS A BETTER WAY – Ireland is a country that stands at the brink. We are in a recession that is unprecedented in the history of the Irish state. Not only have people faced crushing job losses this has also been compounded by crippling debt as our countries elite have tied us to the gambling losses of banks and bondholders. However there is an alternative. Sinn Féin (SF) is willing to provide this alternative.

SF have outlined a number of policies in their election manifesto that they wish to put forward to the Irish people. SF believe that only their plan can alleviate the suffering of thousands of Irish people and provide a plan that will put this country back on the road for recovery. This plan includes a major job creation programme to get Ireland back to work, reverse the savage cuts and prioritise frontline services, to burn the bondholders and wind down Anglo Irish Bank.

SF is committed to reducing the budget deficit by taxing the wealthy and eliminating wasteful spending. SF will prioritise political reform to open up Irish politics and ensure that elites will no longer have total control over our destiny. The two tier health and education systems are of major concern to SF and the party is committed to bringing about change in this area. SF feel that it is fundamental that Ireland’s natural resources are used to benefit the country and not to be exploited for the wealthy. The party is committed to continuing the work of the Good Friday Agreement and ensuring that there will be a United Ireland.

THE ECONOMY – It is going to be the biggest factor in this election and SF has put forward a costed proposal to the people of Ireland as to how we are to get the economy back on track while also helping those worst hit by the policies of previous governments. SF proposes that a new budget be drawn up immediately as budgets put forward by the previous government have clearly proven to be failures.

SF proposes that a six-year plan be introduced to replace the current four-year plan. The cuts put forward in the four year plan will only serve to plunge this country into a deeper recession and cause greater hardship for thousands in this country. SF proposes a €7 billion job creation programme using a once-off transfer of funds from the National Pension Reserve Fund that will create more 160,000 jobs in the Irish economy and get this country back to work.

SF believes that it is better that this money is better used as a stimulus package than falling into the black hole of bank debt. SF believes in introducing a 1% wealth tax on all assets over 1 million euro, excluding working farmland. The party would like all incomes three times the average industrial wage (100,000 euro +) to come under a new tax bracket of 48%.

It is SF’s opinion that the Universal Social Charge is an unfair tax method and believes it should be scrapped. It is also vital that the minimum wage be restored to €8.65 an hour. SF’s policy is to cut the sovereign debt off from the bank debt. This would enable us to free ourselves from the IMF/EU bailout and get the country back on the road to recovery.

EDUCATION – SF believes that a proper education system is essential to getting this country back on its feet. SF commits itself to ensuring that education remains free and accessible to every young person in this country. The party believes that a child should be catered for from primary until third level. An end to state funding of private education is an issue that SF will focus on. SF do not support any attempts to introduce fees for third level education.

This election may be the most important election since SF established to first Dáil after the general election of 1919. The democratic programme of that first Dáil is as important today as it was in 1919. SF is committed to bringing about a fair, equal and just society. SF is committed to building a united Republic of united People. On February 25^th vote Sinn Féin.

UCC Sinn Féin Society

When the Irish electorate go to the polls on Friday 25^th, we will be met by that familiar sheet of paper. Some might wonder why they can’t just put an ‘X’ next to their favourite, while others might enjoy ranking their prospective TD’s in numerical order. What does it all mean though? And how does this electoral system work?

Proportional Representation by the Single Transferable Vote, otherwise known in abbreviated form as PR-STV, has been used on this island to elect our local, national and European government since gaining independence.

Basically, PR-STV is considered to be a more democratic electoral system in comparison to, say, the British First Past the Post (FPTP) system because it is based on proportionality. FPTP can sometimes bring up unfair results (like the 2005 UK election where Labour picked up 35% of the vote and around 55% of the seats, but the Liberal Democrats got 22 % of the vote and just 10% of the seats.)

In its simplest form, you rank candidates in order of preference by marking a number next to their name: ‘1’ for your favourite, ‘2’ for the next best and so on. However, this is where some people get lost, how does it work from there and why does the counting process seem so damn complicated to the casual observer?

While it is perhaps unnecessary for regular voters to understand the full mechanics of the system, it does help to figure out what the process is behind the scenes in City Hall when the count begins. Indeed, counting halls will appear wonderfully chaotic on Saturday week, and it is worthwhile to pop your head in the door for a look and embrace the madness of it all.

Firstly, before you can pull on your anorak and act all nerdy, you’ll need to have some grasp of how it all works. The basic logic behind PR-STV is that in each constituency, a quota is set and candidates must reach that figure to be elected.

The ‘Droop Quota,’ which actually sounds like a wicked consequence of an over-the-top RAG week,  is the total number of votes cast, divided by the amount of seats plus one, plus a further one. Take a three-seat constituency, such as Cork South West for example, and the quota would be 25% of the vote + 1. Simple!

Well, maybe not. But what it does guarantee is that the system is incredibly proportional and fair. Let’s presume that we are in a mini little constituency now, where there are two seats up for grabs. Just 30 people vote, and using the above formula, the quota becomes 11 votes for the first seat.

On the first count, each voter’s first preference will be counted. If a candidate reaches the quota within that amount of time, then his surplus votes will be transferred over to the others. The surplus, basically, is the amount of votes over the quota a candidate obtains in the round. So say John Smith needs a quota of 1,000 votes to be elected, but ends up with 1,234: the surplus of 234 will be transferred in the second round.

If no candidate reaches the quota, the person with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated, and the same method is applied where those second preferences from all the eliminated candidates’ votes, rather than a surplus seeing as they haven’t reached a quota, will be transferred in the next count.

Now, this is where your number two comes into play. Whether it is because of elimination or a candidate is elected, your second choice preferences will be transferred over into the second round and the same formula is implied again and again until the required amount of candidates reach the quota.

If there still isn’t a candidate elected by the end of round two, which is unusual, then the lowest hopeful TD will be eliminated and the same formula will be applied again. The same methodology goes for a candidate elected on the second count, only difference being that it is your third preference that is being counted next time round.

And that in itself is the reason why you should put down more than one choice on the ballot paper, because even a second preference vote will count if your first choice is eliminated or elected.

Still a little bit confused? I can’t blame you. Nevertheless, even a brief knowledge of the workings can be a benefit to you as you go to the polls on Friday week, and with an unprecedented turnout expected, you can impress (or maybe scare off) those around you with your impressive knowledge of the count.

In 2007 Fianna Fáil (FF) won 77 (47%) of Dáil seats, four less than the previous general election, and they got 858,565 (41.56%) of the first preference votes (FPV). Fine Gael (FG) received 51 seats, 20 more than 2002 with 564,428 of the FPV. The Labour Party (LP) kept its 20 seats and roughly the same FPV, 209,175 (10.13%).

Sinn Féin (SF) got 4 seats and about 143,410 (6.94%) of the FPV and the Green Party (GP) got 6 seats with only 96,936 of the FPS. The PDs were nearly wiped out, maintaining only two seats. FF very nearly received a majority and even in the summer of 2008 FF was maintaining over 40% of the popular support according to most polls.

At the same time FG polled approximately 25%, and the LP and SF were as low as 10% and 5% respectively. But by the end of last year, one RED C poll had FF losing two-thirds of its support, at just 13%; FG had climbed to 32%, the LP more than doubled to 24% and SF trebled to 16% with independents also gaining a few percentage points. The most recent Poll of Polls shows a Munster aggregate with FF on 15.8%, FG on 34.3%, LP at 20.8%, SF 12.3%, Greens 1.4% & others on 15.1%

The number of FF candidates running has fallen from 106 in 2007 to 75, the vast majority of the 39 incumbents who have left the Dáil are also FF TDs. FG and the LP have increased their candidate numbers by 13 and 18 respectively, whilst the GP and SF have maintained similar numbers. The most alarming shift as regards candidates in this election has been the emergence of candidates and groupings disillusioned with not just the economy but the party system in general and increasingly, the perceived loss of sovereignty and decay of democracy.

The United Left Alliance, which includes the Socialist Party, People Before Profit, Workers and Unemployed Action Group and others have 19 candidates running, Séamus Healy of the WUAG is a front runner in South Tipperary. Other smaller parties like the Christian Solidarity Party have doubled candidate numbers to eight, the Worker’s Party have six and even Michael Gleeson of the South Kerry Independent Alliance has an outside chance of picking up a seat.

Most alarming of all is that the number of Independents has jumped from 90 to 199 and overall candidate numbers rose from 470 to 564. Strong independents like Michael Healey-Rae and Tom Fleming in South Kerry, Michael Lowry in North Tipperary, Mattie McGrath in South Tipperary are definite front runners, so are James Breen in Clare and John Dillon in Limerick County.

The protest vote against current politics is evident with many with parties like the new An Chomhdháil Phobail/The People’s Convention who have two candidates running in East Cork and one in each Cork city constituency. The Socialist Party’s Mick Barry has a good chance in Cork North Central. People Before Profit have an outside chance of Anne Foley to pick up a seat in North West Cork. The Worker’s Party is represented in Munster and the remnants of the anti-Government, Green Party, an Fís Nua have a candidate in Waterford.

All the hallmarks of a disenchanted society and a longing for a change not necessarily provided for by the main parties. Maybe most worryingly of all to those who seek change is the fact that there are only 86 Women candidates (15.2%) with Cork South West and Limerick having no female candidates whatsoever on the ballot paper.

Why the change? – In the three years from 2006 to 2009, the property related tax revenue in Ireland fell from over €8 billion to under €1 billion. Total tax take fell from €47 billion in 2007 to €31 billion in 2010. About 16% of state income disappeared from property related tax alone. The banks that had relied most on this sector then needed a guarantee or they would be unable to function, and the rest they say is the history of one big pile of proverbial, hitting a ferociously energetic ceiling fan. The political repercussions have caused the collapse of public confidence in all our systems of governance. The aftermath could take the rest of your working life to fix. What the Express hopes to convey in this Special is that in this election, now more than ever, politics should be about policies, not personalities. The UCC political societies have kindly given a summary of their respective party’s policies to help you decide how to vote on 25/02. Whether your priorities lie with increased distribution of wealth, economic growth, education, jobs, health, environmental protection or even which party can most realistically stand-up to external and internal pressures and implement the policies they have promised, they will be discussed here. If who you want to represent you is way down Paddy Power’s list, don’t just accept it, get out, canvas, vote and help beat the odds!