Was it all worth it, Cllr Keane?

Last February, a motion was put before the Galway City Council that would see rowdy councillors punished for unruly behaviour by stopping their pay and withdrawing services.

While the measures stopped short of spanking councillors and withholding money for sweets, they seemed more appropriate for disciplining hormonal teenagers than democratically elected representatives.

Fianna Fáil - the greatest comeback since Lazarus?

Grassroots - An inside look at local politics – from the pens of the politicians themselves

Over recent weeks, despite the happy distraction of the St Patrick’s Day festivities and the Easter break, Insider has detected a sense of worry in people’s demeanour created by a largely unexpected development that has truly shaken them out of any complacency.

People nervously turn the pages of newspapers, scarcely believing what they are reading. The scale of the uncertainty has clearly unnerved them, they fear for their economic well-being and even for the safety of their savings.

Colm Keaveney - the kingmaker the next Labour leader might need?

Grassroots - An inside look at local politics – from the pens of the politicians themselves

One of the most engrossing political sagas of the current Dáil has been the venomous relationship between the Labour leadership and the party’s maverick Galway East TD Colm Keaveney.

The defection of five TDs in the first two years of Government and a nosedive in successive opinion polls has left Labour leader Eamon Gilmore in an unenviable position and, under normal circumstances, he could really use the support of the party chair.

More Grassroots

• Was it all worth it, Cllr Keane?
• Fianna Fáil - the greatest comeback since Lazarus?
• Colm Keaveney - the kingmaker the next Labour leader might need?
• City to aid the resurrection of Fianna Fáil?
• City to aid the resurrection of Fianna Fáil?
• How do you solve a problem like county representation?
• Deal or no deal?
• Galway East - just who will survive?
• Austerity must be from the top down
• Are the Irish economically illiterate?
• Next time out it could be Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil coalition
• Post-Olympic glow begins to diminish in the corridors of power as pressure mounts
• A Mayor to be proud of
• Nolan and Keaveney - this county ain’t big enough for the both of us
• Labour needs to watch its left flank
• We need a referendum on the austerity treaty
• ‘Optical’ Friday sittings not availed of by Galway West TDs
• Government cannot afford to be seen to favour the elite
• How will Budget 2012 really affect Irish politics?
• What have Labour ever done for us?
• ULA to hold ‘Alternative to Austerity’ meeting
• Back to the future with Michael D and Giovanni Trapattoni?
• City council meetings - sniping, grandstanding, and long-winded bores
• Europe probably has a Plan B, but does Ireland?
• Will President Higgins speak for the people or the establishment?
• Will President Higgins speak for the people or the establishment?
• Tiochfaidh ár lá sa Ghaillimh?
• Sinn Féin to hold major conference in Galway
• Local democracy? It’s just a myth
• Local democracy? It’s just a myth