THERE'S A GENERAL ELECTION dead ahead in Ireland and today's Sunday broadsheets document the results of a Sunday Business Post Red C poll [1] that suggests if an Irish citizen votes for Labour, it helps ensure Fine Gael occupies the seat of Taoiseach. More than anything else, the front page coverage of the poll's results points to how the current Irish general election system is broken. It reduces Irish national politics to a victim of the party whips and it serves to offer a career path to local councillors who finish their working days as well-pensioned national politicians. In a related front page item, Cliff Taylor unveils details from the Irish Department of Finance that clearly warned about "pro-cyclical fiscal action" that contributed to the meltdown of the Irish economy. [2]
#trust
The 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer found 75% of respondents trusted technology firms. By contrast, only 6% of respondents trusted the banking sector. Some of this low trust in Ireland might be traced to the fact that the National Asset Management Agency, a gigantic quango of toxic bank debt, has no Freedom of Information responsibilities.
#startup
Seedups.com has 55 investors signed up for its service, with a combined pool of EUR 3.6m available for funding start-ups. Over 200 start-ups have already registered with the site.
1. Pat Leahy -- "First poll of campaign shows election is Fine Gael's to lose" on the front page of the Sunday Business Post, January 30, 2011.
2. Cliff Taylor -- "Report: Dept of Finance warned government of dangerous policies" on the front page of the Sunday Business Post, January 30, 2011.
Last Week: "Irish Sunday Papers through an American's eyes", 23 January 2011.
Five Years Ago: "Blogs as focus groups" with ideas from Piaras Kelly and Michele Neylon, 30 January 2006.
