Anyone who doubted whether the election campaign is effectively on should have been in the council chamber for this week’s monthly County Council meeting when there were several good-humoured exchanges between the various councillors. Here is a sample – from an exchange which took place between Fianna Fail Councillor John Cummins and Fine Gael’s Sean Beirne during a debate on the water programme for 2007. Cllr Beirne: ‘It’s the same old story – promises, promises, promises – and then when the election is over then the whole country will come to a stop because nothing will be done at all.’ Cllr. Cummins: ‘And Fine Gael would never make any promises, I suppose.’ Cllr. Beirne: ‘Bertie was on the auction politics mode after the weekend.’ Cllr. Cummins: ‘I think we’ll all have to go to the Sean Beirne school of negativity!’