Harney's betrayal: The criminal Haughey would have been proud

I find it difficult to believe that I once admired Mary Harney.

When she and Des O’Malley challenged the criminal Haughey and his corrupt party by leaving and forming the Progressive Democrats I had hoped that, at last, Ireland was on the road to real democracy.

And indeed while O’Malley was leader the party acted with integrity and determination in challenging our corrupt, gombeen political system.

Sadly, all that ended soon after Harney took over as leader. She obviously concluded that all that integrity and accountability stuff was a hindrance to staying in and exploiting power.

Harney abandoned her principles and, in effect, rejoined her old, corrupt, Fianna Fail party. In so doing, she betrayed her country.

In typically cowardly Fianna Fail fashion she was on the airwaves today blaming others for the destruction of our country.

We have very strong regulation in relation to corporate governance. For example, I personally established the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

When I was Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment I carried out many inquiries including one into Ansbacher.

There was a failure by the authorities to enforce the regulations, of that there is no doubt.

According to this cowardly traitor government ministers have no responsibility whatsoever for the actions/non actions of state enforcement agencies.

This cowardly traitor did establish the Director of Corporate Enforcement – a completely powerless authority that has yet to bring a single white collar criminal to justice.

Its powerlessness and abject failure is, like the failure of all other so called law enforcement authorities, no accident.

This cowardly traitor was involved in the Ansbacher and many other inquiries concerning white collar crime but none of these crimes were uncovered by so called law enforcement authorities. They were all uncovered by whistleblowers or the media.

Without exception, every one of these inquiries ended in failure. Not a single white collar criminal was ever charged. This is the record this traitor is so proud of.

When asked did she feel ashamed that she is part of a government that has seen the IMF called in she replied.

No, I don’t actually.

She defended her lack of shame by covering it with the lie spouted by her fellow Fianna Fail liars – it’s not a bailout, it’s a loan.

The criminal Haughey would have been proud of this woman’s descent from the high ground of integrity and concern for her country to his own level of grasping greed, dishonesty and betrayal.