Category: Body Politic

Scumbag O'Dea takes the money

The vast majority of Irish citizens are suffering real hardship as a result of the catastrophe brought down upon them by our corrupt political system. The consequences of what has happened will be felt for generations to come.

Fianna Fail, the most corrupt political party in the county, is principally responsible for this betrayal of the Irish people.

Limerick City TD Willie O’Dea is a leading member of Fianna Fail.

O’Dea will not be sharing in the people’s suffering as this Irish Examiner report demonstrates.

Limerick City TD Willie O’Dea has taken €8,500 in “step-down” payments this year, on top of his Dáil salary of €92,000.

He claimed €54,000 in golden handshake payments in 2010 after being forced to resign as minister for defence in February 2010.

Under Oireachtas rules, he was entitled to 75% of his ministerial salary for six months after stepping down — up to August 2010.

He was entitled to half the salary up until this month and will be allowed to claim 25% of the salary between now and Christmas.

Here’s how the scumbag defended his greed:

I spend money my own way and I make donations to charity.

This pathetic response is on a par with that other low-life scumbag Bertie Ahern when he claimed he won his money on the horses.

The bell tolls (and tolls and tolls and tolls) for a puzzled Tom Fleming TD

Supporters of Independent TD Tom Fleming have made some bizarre excuses for his poor voting record in the Dáil.

An Irish Independent report revealed that the Kerry South TD did not vote on 14 of the 20 occasions he was fobbed into the Dáil to claim thousands of Euro and travel accommodation costs.

The excuses given by John O’Connor, a management consultant representing the TD tells us more about the low opinion Mr. Fleming has of his political colleagues than it does about his poor Dáil record.

According to Mr. O’Connor Deputy Fleming has an ethical compass, he has a brain and if others had the same intellect as his leader the country wouldn’t be in the mess it was in now.

The suggestion seems to be that there’s a serious lack of brains and ethical compasses in our national parliament.

I have to say there’s a lot of truth in that claim.

He’s not in there to prop up a government and he’s not there to oppose things for the sake of it either, he’s not a nihilist.

What? He’s not a nihilist? I quickly checked the dictionary to see if I had been in error regarding the meaning of this word.

No, no I wasn’t.

a. An extreme form of skepticism that denies all existence.

b. A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.

Then, suddenly, I realised what Mr. O’Connor was trying to say:

All Irish politicians, with the exception of his leader, of course, were deniers of all existence, believed that all values were baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.

Feck, the guy is a genius. It’s the most accurate assessment of the Irish body politic I have ever heard.

But the most bizarre and most hilarious excuse comes from the great man himself.

Deputy Fleming said he missed a number of votes at the start of the Dáil term because, as a new TD, he did not know what the bell calling deputies to the chamber to vote was for.

I fell about laughing when I read this most pristine of gombeen excuses.

All new TDs are provided with written and oral advice regarding Dáil procedures, responsibilities and regulations.

I’m not sure, however, if it’s thought necessary to inform new TDs about the bell which is broadcast throughout the entire building.

Its function, after all, is to call deputies to vote in the chamber which is the most basic part of their job.

It would be a bit like an official thinking it necessary to say to a new TD – Do you see that building in front of you, well that’s Dáil Éireann.

The door in the centre of the building is the entrance, there’s no other door so you can’t miss it.

I can just imagine Deputy Fleming working away in his office when this loud and very strange sounding bell starts ringing.

Feck it, he thinks, what is that noise? I’m finding it very hard to concentrate on my expenses application.

After several days of really hard thinking and with his head near bursting he gives up and decides to ring a fellow (non nihilist) TD.

Tom: Howya Paddy, could you ever tell me what that fecking bell is for?

Paddy: I’ve been racking my very intelligent brain for days now Tom and I just can’t figure it out.

I suppose if it’s a fire alarm we’d have had our arses burnt off by now.

Tom: Maybe it’s calling us to lunch although it seems to go off at all sorts of times.

Paddy: And it couldn’t be calling us to the bar for free drinks, their free all the time.

Tom: could it be calling us to prayers, ya know, like them Muslim fellows?

Paddy: I doubt it Tom, us Catholics don’t go in for all that public prayer stuff.

Tom: Oh Jazus Paddy, please tell me it’s not for calling us to collect our expenses.

Paddy: Oh bollicks, I’ll bet that’s exactly what it’s for. Come on; let’s get our arses down to the paymaster before we lose our entitlements.

New TDs expenses system does not prevent fraud

A recent report in the Irish Independent highlighted the low vote participation by TDs when compared to high claims for expenses.

TDs are required to electronically ‘fob in’ at a terminal, or else sign in at an attendance book, to claim travel and overnight costs.

These annual benefits range from €12,000 to €37,850, depending on where the politician calls home.

It comes on top of expenses of up to €25,700 for running a constituency office and a basic salary of around €92,000.

For the running of their constituency office TDs can choose a vouched or unvouched system.

With the unvouched system they receive €15, 00; no questions asked. With the vouched system they receive €25,700 but may be asked to produce receipts.

This ‘new’ system was introduced in March 2010 and is hailed by all those who benefit as a great step forward in transparency and accountability.

The ‘new’ system is, of course, neither transparent nor accountable as I found out when I spoke to a civil servant in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

On the fob in system.

Me: Who is responsible for monitoring the fob system?

Civil Servant: The Houses of the Oireachtas.

Me: What particular individual is responsible?

Civil Servant: I don’t know if it’s a specific individual, I mean, the records are checked, monitored and marked.

Me: Is it that TDs scan their fobs and are electronically recorded?

Civil Servant: Yes.

Me: Is it a civil servant who checks that record?

Civil Servant: I don’t know, the records are published on a monthly basis on our website.

Me: The reason I’m asking this question is because there’s obviously huge scope for fraud within the system.

Civil Servant: How do you work that out?

Me: If I was a TD in Kerry, for example, I could give my fob to a colleague TD and ask him to fob in for me.

Civil Servant: You could do that I suppose.

Me: So is there somebody there to make sure this is not happening?

Civil Servant: No.

Me: So there is scope for fraud in the system?

Civil Servant: Well, on that rationale there’s a possibility for fraud on everything, in every walk of life.

Me: Of course, but what I mean is there’s a possibility of easy fraud in this system.

Civil Servant: Well if you want to suggest that Oireachtas members are engaged in that, that’s up to you. We have no evidence of that at all.

Me: Well, you couldn’t have evidence because you don’t actually monitor the system which leaves lots of scope for fraud.

Civil Servant: That’s what you’re saying, I don’t agree with that.

Me: Could you confirm that there is actually no way to prevent fraud, somebody could, if they wished, fob in somebody else.

Civil Servant: There’s no evidence of that happening; never saw anybody do it.

Me: Is the system monitored, is there any way of preventing a TD from fobbing in for another TD?

Civil Servant: Other than they’re no allowed to do it and they’re told they’re no allowed to do it, that’s what we say to them.

On the signing in system.

Me: Is the signing in monitored?

Civil Servant; Most of them don’t sign in; I don’t know how many exactly sign in.

Me: The TDs that do sign in, are they monitored?

Civil Servant: I don’t know if any of them do, it’s an option.

Me: You don’t know?

Civil Servant: Not off hand, no.

Me: Even if one TD signs in, there’s a record. If no TD signs in, there’s still a record. Is that record checked?

Civil Servant: What do you mean checked?

Me: To make sure TDs are genuinely signing in and not signing in for each other.

Civil Servant: Yes, I suppose they could if they wanted to be very dishonest.

Me: Perish the thought that a TD would be dishonest.

Civil Servant: That’s what you’re saying. In life, if somebody wants to do something dishonest, they could, it’s quite hard to stop people. We have no evidence of that happening.

On the Voucher system.

Me: I understand there’s a percentage of unvouched vouchers checked annually.

Civil Servant: Yes, there’s an audit on 10% of unvouched vouchers.

Me: Is that audit available to the public?

Civil Servant: It’s still being carried out at present, I understand so it’s not available yet.

Me: I rang about this audit last year and was told the same thing.

Civil Servant: Ok, well, the audit is being carried out at present.

Me: When will it be available?

Civil Servant: I don’t know, when it’s finished, we’re very transparent here in the Oireachtas

Me: Yes, of course, you’re very transparent. What period does the audit cover?

Civil Servant: I don’t know. I think it covers the period since the new scheme came in March 2010.

Me: Is there a requirement that the audit be published within a particular time period?

Civil Servant: I imagine when it is concluded we’ll be publishing it. I don’t know if we will be publishing it, I can’t give you a definitive answer on that. We’ve had several requests for it, so I imagine it will be.

Me: So if I come back next year there’s a good chance it will be available.

Civil Servant: I don’t know, I don’t know precisely what date it’s going to be finished.

I first enquired about the so called voucher audit four years ago and was told there was no such audit.

I enquired again in 2008 and was told it wasn’t available because they were working on the new ‘transparent and accountable’ system of expenses.

Last year I was told it wasn’t available because the ‘new’ system wasn’t in long enough.

This year I’m told I may, but then again, I may not be granted access to the audit.

The bottom line is obvious. The so called new system of transparency and accountability does nothing to prevent fraud. Politicians can, if they wish, rob public monies with complete impunity.

If we are to judge from past events that is exactly what’s going to happen.

Healy-Rae phone calls: Theft

Irish Times letter.

Sir,

It is clear that Dáil office practices deviate from generally accepted business conventions.

No employee in the private sector would risk making premium rate phone calls, because it would likely be flagged and disciplinary action taken for the theft as soon as the invoice was reviewed by the payables department (Breaking News, June 28th).

Indeed, such phone calls would be blocked. Are people calling psychics hotlines as well?

Few companies would distribute money without receipts, expense reports and other supporting documentation.

This total lack of accountability and absence of political will to introduce accountability to Leinster House would give any official in the ECB or IMF pause.

Would politicians consider the theft of €3,000 in cash by a drug user any differently?

Yours, etc,

SE Lydon,
Eagle Valley,
Wilton,
Cork.

Brendan Keenan: A disturbingly ignorant journalist

During a discussion on nepotism and cronyism Irish Independent economics editor, Brendan Keenan made the following comment:

We have certainly seen in Britain an appalling decline of standards in Parliament and I think we’ve seen some signs of that spreading over here.

It’s difficult to know where to start analysing such a disturbingly ignorant statement.

It seems that Keenan labours under the illusion that, apart from some contamination from the UK, Ireland is a fully functional, democratically accountable state where politicians seldom, if ever, engage in corrupt practices.

First, let me give a broad outline of what happened in the UK when the expenses scandal broke.

There was genuine and widespread anger throughout the land including among the body politic. Politicians were ruthlessly challenged on the matter by a professional and well informed media. Some MPs were even physically attacked by their constituents such was the anger at this theft of public funds.

The police were involved from the very beginning and ultimately succeeded in sending a number of politicians to jail. At least a third of MPs were either sacked or forced to resign and the Government introduced tough new legislation as a result of the scandal.

The theft of taxpayer’s money by Irish politicians is rampant and has been for decades, the practice is an integral and long accepted aspect of the corrupt political system.

The majority of Irish citizens have no problem with such practices so long as their local gombeen representative continues to dispense petty favours.

The police never, ever act against such corruption. The Ivor Callely scandal is a case in point. When a formal complaint was made against Callely the Garda Commissioner, the highest ranking policeman in the state, effectively put the investigation on hold because he was waiting for ‘more clarification’ from a lowly civil servant.

To my knowledge he’s still waiting.

The media, for the most part, are ineffective in challenging the corrupt politicians through a combination of grovelling subservience and/or low journalistic standards.

To be precise here, the Irish media are good at uncovering corruption and even at asking the right questions but almost never stay the course in demanding answers.

Irish politicians have long ago copped on to this and so respond by just throwing out the first excuse/lie that comes to mind and it’s off to the next scandal.

New legislation in response to political corruption never seems to be actually fit for purpose. This, of course, is no accident.

The recent ‘reform’ of TDs expenses, for example, allows them to steal a good portion of their allotment if they so wish, with no questions asked.

This type of legal corruption is rampant within the political system and throughout the ruling class.

One of the crucial weaknesses of how Ireland is governed is the total absence of any law enforcement authority capable of operating independently of the corrupt political system.

The media, for all its faults and weaknesses, is the only force in the land capable of challenging that corrupt system; it’s the only force that provides any protection for ordinary Irish citizens.

That’s why it’s so disturbing to witness such an ignorant display from such a prominent journalist.

Copy to:

Brendan Keenan

Joan Collins joins Bertie Ahern on the arsehole of humanity

Joan Collins of People Before Profit – United Left Alliance was the woman who challenged the scumbag Bertie Ahern when he was being interviewed as the last Dail broke up.

People like us getting cuts in our wages and taxes and all that. Have you no shame, you’re on the TV the last two days mouthing out of yourself, you should be ashamed of yourself, shame on you.

Well, Joan Collins, now a TD, was herself ‘mouthing out of herself’ to Pat Kenny recently in defence of her decision to give a job to her partner Dermot

I’ve always been opposed to cronyism and I would have seen it in the relationship between politicians, developers, bankers and that sort of angle…but… Dermot’s ability is second to none, not to have him on the team would be an absolute scandal.

The people of Ireland desperately need their politicians to break with the corrupt political system by acting on principle all the time and not just when it’s safe to do so.

By engaging in the same old nepotism and pathetically trying to defend her actions with the same old dishonest arguments, Collins has betrayed those who hoped she was a force for change.

She has reduced herself to the status of gombeen politician looking out for her own interests, the interests of her friends and family and the interests of her constituents in order to get re-elected.

Ireland and its people as a whole are obviously way down her list of priorities.

Reacting to the spat with Ahern Collins correctly described him as a pimple on the arse of humanity.

By her actions Collins has now joined the scumbag on that arse.

Copy to:
Joan Collins

Broken promises to a politically ignorant electorate

Fionnan Sheahan was writing about broken government promises in yesterday’s Irish Independent.

The average member of the public does prefer to get accurate accounts from their elected leaders and demands a high degree of honesty.

This is a ridiculous statement.

Irish politicians are very, very seldom honest. They operate within a deeply corrupt political system where lying, cheating, stealing and generally betraying the people is the norm.

Honesty within a system that runs on the fuel of corruption can quickly end a political career.

Such corruption flourishes because of the chronically low level of political intelligence among Irish citizens.

A few scraps from a politician’s table, even from criminal politicians like Haughey, is all that is required to ensure election time after time.

The credibility of the previous government was eroded because the public gradually couldn’t believe a word their ministers were saying.

This is also a ridiculous statement.

Irish ministers lie all the time. Political lying is a deeply ingrained part of our corrupt political culture and is fully accepted by a chronically politically ignorant electorate.

Irish citizens have no problem with political dishonesty/lying so long as it does not affect them personally.

They vote, overwhelmingly, on a selfish, personal basis – what’s good for me, not the wider community, not the country.

It was only when the previous government led the entire country over the cliff of destruction, affecting the individual interests of a great number of citizens; that they found themselves thrown out of power.

It’s not about honesty, it’s not about good government; it’s not about the country.

It’s about how well a corrupt political system based entirely on the buying and selling of votes through clientelism can deliver a few crumbs to a politically ignorant peasantry.

Seanad Eireann: Dead as a dodo

Irish Times columnist Deaglan de Breadun was very impressed with the contribution of Senator David Norris during the first session of the newly elected Senate, vintage stuff, de Breadun commented.

Some people are easily impressed.

Senator Norris pompously compared the parochial, elitist club that is Seanad Eireann with the Roman Republic and its senate.

As if there was even the remotest link between the greatness of ancient Rome and the activities of a crowd of gombeen bog trotters labouring under the delusion that they live in an accountable democracy.

Senator Norris went on to make the following comment which confirms that he and his fellow senators occupy a fantasy realm completely divorced from reality.

It is our responsibility by reason of our privileged position not to encourage the notion that we are a special class. Politicians are merely ordinary people who have taken on an extra burden of responsibility on behalf of the wider community. We should not see ourselves or behave as if we were an elite.

Apparently, the great hope for the new senate is the vision and determination of its new members. Here’s part of what new Senator and economics lecturer at Trinity Senator Sean Barrett had to say in his maiden speech.

We will have to show that this senate will make a difference. We will have to provide checks, balances, and scrutiny and accountability tests on all of those people who have brought this country to the desperate economic situation in which we find ourselves.

So, this completely useless and powerless institution, which is an integral part of our corrupt political/administrative system, is going to bring those who destroyed our country to justice?

Senator Barrett, with flags flying and guns blazing, is not only going to take on the indolence, arrogance and incompetence of Seanad Eireann but he’s also going to put the frighteners on the entire ruling elite who have so successfully protected the corrupt traitors responsible for impoverishing the people of Ireland.

Best of luck on that one Senator.

There was, however, one glimmer of hope.

After just two-and-a-half hours listening to his fellow senators, newly elected Labour Senator John Whelan commented:

They spent most of their time talking either about themselves or their local parish pump issues. It was a total mess of back-slapping, wind-baggery and hot air.

Senator Walsh, who obviously breathes the same air as ordinary people, said that Seanad Eireann was ‘dead as a dodo’ and should be abolished as swiftly as possible.

I suspect the vast majority of Irish citizens would agree and cannot wait to get their hands on that ballot paper.

Talk, even genuine, patriotic talk, will not change the status quo

I have nothing but admiration for people like Fiach Mac Conghail of We the Citizens and those involved in setting up The Citizens Assembly. They are, unlike the bulk of Irish citizens, including myself, taking action to create a truly democratic country.

Unfortunately, they are too late. The old corrupt Republic of Ireland came to an ignominious end on 29th September 2008 when the Fianna Fail/Green Party government handed over all our assets and our children’s future to bail out the corrupt bankers.

Many people blame the bankers for the disaster that has occurred, this is a mistake. No banker, developer or any other organisation or individual could have acted as they did without the full cooperation of a corrupt political system.

That corrupt political system is still in place, still protecting the corrupt, still betraying the best interests of the Irish people.

Nothing will change until that corrupt system is totally destroyed and replaced by a truly democratic system.

Representatives of We the Citizens and other groups attempting to rescue our failed state featured on The Late Debate (Tuesday).

There was a great deal of debate about debate, a great deal of discussion about how our systems can be reformed.

It is all to no avail, our country is a failed entity. Nothing less than a complete clear-out of all the political, administrative and regulatory systems that have betrayed the people of Ireland will do if we are to create a proper democracy.

Organisations like We the Citizens and The Citizens Assembly will fail because of one glaring flaw, they are all talking shops. Talking shops full of genuine, enthusiastic, patriotic people but talking shops none the less.

They carry out their business within four walls; they will not be conducting angry street marches and therefore will pose no real challenge to the political/administrative status quo.

The corrupt political/administrative system will pat them on the head; praise them for their high ideals and then ignore them.

Just as I was despairing of all the talk about talk a woman in the audience, Sarah, a youth worker with Spunout.ie, cut through all the discussion with the truth (my emphasis).

I’ve been at Reset Ireland, The Ireland/Iceland project, Claiming our Future and We the Citizens where there has been lots of discussion.

But I have come to believe that we will not achieve any significant political change through polite little initiatives that operate within the current status quo. We just won’t do it, it hasn’t happened anywhere else.

In every other country where they have achieved such political change it has been because of a prior rejection of the status quo on the part of the people.

We have had no such rejection in Ireland; change will only come about by rejecting the systems that have failed us

Good woman Sarah, I couldn’t have put it better myself.

The current ruling elite will never give up their power until it is taken from them and all the talking in the world will not change that fact.

State sponsored legal rackets

A United Nations committee on torture has described as stunning the high number of Nigerians whose applications for refugee status are refused by Ireland (Nine News).

The Secretary General of the Dept. of Justice, Sean Aylward, defended the record by saying that there was a legal racket going on in stringing things out.

Could it be that those Nigerians, who Mr. Aylward so casually accuses, are taking their cue from the multitude of legal rackets engaged in by Irish politicians and civil servants?

Never ending tribunals, useless Dail Committee inquiries and numerous police investigations that never seem to end in convictions.

Ruthless and corrupt politicians, bankers and other white collar criminals all rest easy in their beds in the secure knowledge that they and their ill gotten gains are well protected by a myriad of state sponsored legal rackets.