By Anthony Sheridan
Every Irish politician has a simple decision to make when speaking about allegations of corruption.
Speak the truth or sacrifice self-respect by assuming that Irish citizens are idiots.
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Patrick Donovan chose to assume that Irish citizens are idiots in this interview about the Olympic ticket scandal.
RTE Presenter Richard Crowley: Have you got the facts yet? (A week after the scandal broke).
Donovan: No, we still don’t know what happened. That’s why I asked senior officials in the Dept to write to the Olympic Council of Ireland to seek clarification.
Crowley: What can you tell us about the number of tickets seized by the Brazilian police?
Donovan: I don’t have the exact details. I wouldn’t like to comment on the case specifically.
This is the standard bullshit we get from moronic Irish politicians – I can’t make comment as it might prejudice a court case.
Crowley: Can you tell us how many tickets the international authorities allocate to Ireland?
Donovan: Well this is something we’re also trying to find out.
Any minister for sport who does not know this basic information is a moron.
Crowley: Have the Olympic Council of Ireland not told you that yet?
Donovan: No, what we’ve done is, we’ve written to the Olympic Council of Ireland….blah, blah, blah.
Crowley: Did the Minister (Shane Ross) not ask about these things?
Donovan: I presume he’s trying to establish an open line of communication between the Olympic Council and the Dept which is important because of the reputational damage….blah, blah, blah.
A week after the scandal broke and the moron expects us to believe that he, his senior minister Shane Ross and his Dept. are still trying to establish communications between the Dept. and the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Crowley: But we’re ten days into this and you don’t even have the basic information.
Donovan: No, and the reason we don’t have the basic information is the way investigations are operated in Brazil is different to how they operate in Ireland.
The moron seems to be suggesting that the Brazilians are somehow incompetent when it comes to investigating criminality when in fact it is Irish authorities that are incompetent/corrupt when it comes to investigating these kinds of scandals.
Crowley: You could get this information yourself directly from the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Donovan: That’s why we’ve written to the Olympic Council.
And so, we’re back to writing letters again.
Crowley: More than a week after the scandal broke?
Donovan: Well in the first instance Richard I was there when the scandal broke and I reacted on behalf of the Government in Rio to what was happening…blah, blah, blah.
The moron did nothing.
Crowley: An inquiry by the Olympic Council of Ireland is entirely unsatisfactory. Can you force them to put an independent person on the inquiry team?
Donovan: No, we can’t but….reputation of Ireland Inc…blah, blah, blah.
Crowley: Is there room for an independent judicial inquiry?
Donovan: It’s too early to say. I was a member of the Oireachtas Committee that looked in detail at the London games…blah, blah, blah.
Just two years ago there were serious problems with the allocation of tickets for the FIFA World Cup held in Brazil
The brazilians, also worried about their country’s reputation, took immediate action that resulted in strict laws governing the allocation of tickets for major events. It was under this law that the Irish corruption was exposed.
To sum up the moron:
I know nothing.
I’m saying nothing
I’ll treat treat Irish citizens like idiots because I don’t have to courage to speak the truth.
I’m waiting for the postman to bring answers – any day now.
Copy to:
Donovan