Category: Fianna Fail

Corruption? Not in Ireland

The manner in which the Today with Pat Kenny Show (Friday) handled the latest serious developments at the Mahon Tribunal is also a good indication of how blind we are to what we are.

Again, it was all journalists talking to each other. No Government minister to defend or explain to the people of Ireland what was going to happen as a result of the very serious allegations made by the Prime Minister and others.

The matter wasn’t even mentioned until the 53rd minute when we had yet another report from a journalist.

My point is that if Ireland was a functional democracy this story would have eclipsed all others for days and within days there would have been serious developments for the politicians who made the allegations or for the tribunal itself.

But apart from the reports from Dublin Castle all we got was yet another analysis by a cabal of journalists. There was, however, a very interesting and telling exchange during this debate which demonstrated just how far removed many Irish people are, including journalists, from admitting that Ireland is a corrupt state.

The discussion had turned to the situation in South Africa and the possible consequences for South Africa after the election of Jacob Zuma as leader of the African National Congress. Zuma is seen by many as a dodgy character and could soon be in court on corruption charges.

Pat Kenny referred to Zuma as a Dell Boy character and expressed the view that he would bring his country into disrepute and make the leadership a laughing stock.

Michael O’Regan of the Irish Times who had earlier expressed sympathy for Bertie Ahern and the difficult time he was having spoke of Zuma in an altogether different tone.

“I find him quite sinister, the fact alone that he’s facing corruption charges in the New Year I would have thought precluded him from any kind of public office. He’s quite dangerous, I would have thought.”

When RTE journalist, Katie Hannon, made the obvious connection between Zuma and Ahern O’Regan defended the Taoiseach by claiming he wasn’t facing corruption charges. Hannon replied that neither was Zuma, as yet.

The very fact that a young country like South Africa actually puts corrupt politicians on trial in a proper court of law means that they are light years ahead in their understanding and acceptance of what corruption actually is.

Many Irish people, including journalists like Michael O’Regan, exist in a world of denial where corruption is an activity that only occurs in other countries.

Santa and the Little People

Fianna Fail TD and Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Seamus Brennan was on Saturday View this weekend defending the Government.

Here’s part of the discussion concerning the alleged rendition flights through Shannon.

Brennan:

There’s no evidence whatsoever that anyone has been subject to extraordinary rendition through Ireland.

Saturday View presenter Rodney Rice:

You can’t have that knowledge unless you go on the flights and we don’t do that.

Brennan:

We do have an inspection regime. The Gardai Siochana have, and I know this sometimes raises a smile, but it shouldn’t, we have very skilled, specialised gardaí who have been particularly trained in this area.

Rice:

But they’ve never been on a plane.

Brennan:

But they’ve been given extra training in this area, the legislation has been brought to their attention and there is now in place trained Gardai who, as I say, has this legislation brought to their attention and they’ve investigated a number of allegations, they have done that and they have found that there is no basis on which to pursue.

Rice:

How have they investigated it if they haven’t been on planes?

Brennan:

The information supplied to the Dept of Justice is that they have investigated a number of allegations and they have found that there’s no basis on which to proceed.

Rice:

But we don’t know how they have come to that conclusion.

Brennan:

Well, we don’t, I don’t have that information but they’ve been trained specially, the law has been brought to their attention, they have investigated allegations and back have come the story that there is no evidence of any extraordinary rendition taking place.

And later…

Brennan:

We have an inspection regime.

Rice:

Which we haven’t implemented.

Brennan:

We have trained Gardai who assure us that they have investigated a number of allegations and found no basis on which to proceed.

Rice:

You keep saying that but we don’t know how they’ve done it.

Brennan:

We don’t ask the Gardai how they do lots of things, they get in and investigate and then they come back with their assurances to the Department.

(Yes Minister; that’s why we have the Morris Tribunal).

Brennan’s story can be likened to a father attempting to reassure an increasingly skeptical son that Santa really does exist.

Son:

Dad, I don’t’ believe in Santa, I think the truth is that you and mum buy the gifts.

Dad:

Now son, there’s no evidence whatsoever that Santa doesn’t exist.

Son:

But how can it be true, flying through the air, squeezing down narrow and very hot chimneys all over the world. It just doesn’t seem believable. You can tell me the truth dad; after all I’m 35 years old and always vote Fianna Fail.

Dad:

Listen son; and I know this sometimes raises a smile, but Santa has special skills, he’s specially trained and can do all kinds of magic things.

Son:

But I’ve never actually seen him do magic things.

Dad:

Of course you haven’t son. Santa has been given extra special powers for the duration of the Christmas period so that when his sleigh is on the runway, er I mean the roof nobody can see what’s going on. It’s all written down in his instructions and this has all been brought to his notice.

Son:

What about all the people on the street who say it’s all an elaborate hoax, to fool the gullible?

Dad:

Don’t mind that rabble son, they’re just ignorant peasants who are jealous of our luxury lifestyle which I might add also comes from a very generous Santa.

Son:

But I still don’t understand how he does it, I find it so, so hard to believe.

Dad: (Becoming exasperated)

Look son, you know uncle Bertie believes in Santa, that Santa is, in fact, a close personal friend of uncle Bertie.

Son:

Yeah, s’pose so.

Dad:

And you know that uncle Bertie always tells the truth, so if uncle Bertie believes then it’s ok for everybody to believe.

Son:

Yeah, guess I shouldn’t be so suspicious; can I have a raise in my pocket money?

Dad:

Not at this time son, Santa’s little helpers might become agitated. Best to defer it until after Christmas when the little people have gone away.

Copy to:
Fianna Fail
Seamus Brennan

Greedy, dishonest politicians

Brennan also strongly defended the scandalous pay rise that politicians have awarded themselves.
Brennan:

We had a discussion and made a decision and then we followed the public debate, very clearly we followed what guys like you had to say, what thundering went on in editorials, what statements were made by union leaders, what statements were made by other people in the queue for pay rises and we did what intelligent people do, we took account of all that.

Rice:

Couldn’t you have done that before if you’ve been in power for so long?

Brennan:

They hadn’t made the statements before that.

Rice:

I know, but you knew what people were going to say.

Brennan:

Well, did you? Because this system has been in place since 1969, I mean this is 2007, isn’t it?

We can be criticised for being weak or admired for taking the message but after weeks and weeks of debate we listened carefully to what was said and we said, ok pay talks coming up, the November figures that came in were not as good as expected and it’s a good thing to show example, to make a gesture.

The following is my interpretation of what the Minister said.

We greedily awarded ourselves a massive pay rise but miscalculated the extent of public anger.

To get ourselves out of the mess we are dishonestly claiming that the decision to defer the pay hike for a year was made in the interests of the Irish people.

We are hoping that our ‘gesture’ will be enough to fool the people and in a years time we can continue to stuff our wallets with taxpayers hard earned money.

Copy to:
Seamus Brennan

King Bertie

This letter in today’s Irish Independent gets it just about right

Never one to choose his words carefully, our Great Leader has announced that deferring the Government pay rises is “a good example of our goodwill” (Irish Independent, December 12).

Goodwill? Is it me or does this language suggest the actions of a kindly monarch who deigns to bestow favours, unasked and undeserved, on his lowly subjects?

Like Marie Antoinette’s people who might eat cake, we are a fortunate lot of peasants that Bertie would stoop to bless us with such signs of his goodwill.

I wonder was that the royal “we” he used?

Newsflash, Bertie — you were chosen by (some of) the Irish people to serve your country, and they would expect more from such a person than “goodwill”. On a salary of €270,000, the Taoiseach is no more a man of the people than was the Sun King. Not since the excesses of Versailles has so much been paid to so few for doing so little for so many.

DAVID ROBINSON
MAIN STREET, COLLON, CO LOUTH

A nation blighted by lying and cowardly politicians

The Minister for Education Mary Hanafin was on the Six One News (1st item) spewing out total bullshit in defence of the latest cowardly u turn by her fellow greedy incompetents.

Her performance shows that she is either a very stupid person or a cynical liar; I believe she’s a liar. Brian Dobson did a demolition job on her pathetic defence of the pay rise scandal.

She started off her lying by claiming that the deferral of the pay rise was a show of political leadership due to the downturn in the economy.

This is a lie, if there had been no strong public reaction to the pay rise the greedy politicians would have taken it. If our ethically compromised and greedy Taoiseach had insisted on taking the money no member of his party would have the balls to stand up to him, including the cowardly and subservient Hanafin.

She carried on her lying by asserting that the pay rise amounted to only about 2% over ten years.

Dobson quickly demolished this pathetic lie by putting it to her that she and her greedy, incompetent and cowardly colleagues had awarded themselves pays increases of 145% over ten years up to 2010.

Just after the lying minister said the figure was 2% Dobson asked her was it 2% or 145%, she replied that it was 12%, another lie.

She went on to insult the intelligence of every honest Irish citizen by claiming politicians were worth the increase because of their responsibilities in running the country and using taxpayers’ money well.

Irish politicians do not know the meaning of the word responsibility; we only have to look at our Third World health system where people are actually dying because of political cowardice and incompetence.

Again, in a desperate attempt to avoid Dobson’s searching questions she said;

“I think the general public accept that it is very important that the people who lead this country are paid good salaries so that they are not in any way susceptible to outside interference. That’s very important in any democracy.”

This is pure unadulterated bullshit.

Although this lying Minister seems to believe the fantasy tales of our ethically compromised Prime Minister, polls indicate that the majority of Irish citizens do not.

They have legitimate doubts about Ahern’s acceptance of vast amounts of cash from so called friends when he was one of the highest paid politicians in the country, so much for not being susceptible to outside interference.

Ahern also seems to revel in the putrid stench left by his corrupt hero Haughey; a politician who had no scruples whatsoever about robbing millions from taxpayers while in receipt of a massive state salary. Again, no worries about accepting enrichment through ‘outside interference’.

Meantime, over on Drivetime, we listened to the weasel words of another greedy and double talking politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.

Once again we heard the lie that the pay rise was deferred because of a downturn in the economy when everybody knows the truth is that cowardly politicians ran for cover when they realised the extent of public anger.

Ahern got himself into all kinds of trouble when questioned by journalists. Apparently, this dishonest politician claimed that he and his greedy colleagues only got one pay increase in the last eleven years.

When the journalists pointed out that they had actually got 22 pay increases since 2000, amounting to a staggering total of 143% Ahern casually lied that everybody in society got the same increases.

When he was challenged on an interim pay rise of 7.5% awarded two years ago he asserted that that particular windfall wasn’t awarded by the independent pay review group while simultaneously, and stupidly, claiming that he had no memory of the award..

The journalists reminded him that it was awarded by the review group.

Copy to:
Fianna Fail
Hanafin
Ahern

What the Minister really thinks?

This morning Minister for Finance Brian Cowen was answering budget questions on Today with Pat Kenny.

A number of listeners called in to criticise his amendments on stamp duty claiming that the changes were designed to help Fianna Fail buddies in the building industry.

Cowen began his reply:

“Unfortunately, there are some people entitled to espouse those views.”

A Freudian slip? perhaps.

A world divorced from reality

Sometimes, when I witness how things are done in this country, I think to myself: ‘Maybe it’s you Anthony, maybe all this stuff is normal and it’s you that’s living in a world divorced from reality.’

That’s certainly what I was thinking yesterday as I read about the latest developments in the Cllr. Fahy case.

Fahy was convicted last March on seven counts under the Larceny Act and the Theft and Fraud Offences Act, including false accounting and attempting to make a gain by deception. He also, in a ruthless attempt to escape punishment, tried to implicate others in his crimes. This is some of what Judge Raymond Groarke had to say;

“Your bombast, bluster and bluff may well have been seen as such by those who witnessed your performance in the witness box, namely the jury, but all the while you gambled with the reputations of honest men in seeking an escape from the consequences of your delinquency.”

The judge addressed Fahy as an “arrogant, greedy and determined fraudster”, who had “knowingly implicated” Thomas Byrne, “a totally innocent man”; leaving him open to “vilification and ruin” if the truth had not emerged.

Fellow councillors, however, did not agree with the judge’s assessment because in order to ensure he kept his seat on the council they all agreed to pretend that Fahy wasn’t really in jail at all but was merely ‘ill in Dublin’.

The criminal, released from jail pending a retrial, received a hero’s welcome at Galway County Council and promptly made a strident speech in which he lectured everybody about his worries on the increasing crime rate.

Noting that crime had risen in the last few months (while he was in jail) the criminal blustered;

“It is just not good enough that people who are out at the shops or at Mass come home to find their houses ransacked. The people who do this sort of crime need to be caught and punished.”

He continued;

“I am proposing that we write to the Garda Commissioner and the Chief Superintendent demanding that every effort is made to bring these culprits to justice.”

His speech was greeted with enthusiastic applause.

Sometimes, when I witness how things are done in this country, I think to myself: ‘Anthony, if all this stuff is normal, perhaps it actually is better to live in a world divorced from reality’.

(Other posts on this matter: Here, here and here)

Liars all – Except Bertie

Bertie Ahern has already effectively called the former director of NCB, Padraic O’Connor, a liar.

He has also turned on Fianna Fail fundraiser, Des Richardson for his part in preparing a dummy invoice to allegedly ‘hide’ the money given to Ahern by NCB (Irish Independent).

Now, in his increasing desperation, he has also effectively accused former CEO of the National Lottery, John Hynes, of lying.

Ahern, through a spokesperson, claims that the Department of Finance was not asked to approve the National Lottery’s decision to open exploratory talks between the National Lottery and a US-backed casino operator in the early 1990s (Irish Times, sub req’d).

The spokesperson said that the Department of Finance was “merely advised after the event” about the contacts between the State lottery and the casino company.

So, once again, nothing whatsoever to do with ‘innocent Bertie’, he only learned of the matter afterwards.

John Hynes is, however, adamant that he did get approval. “I’m standing over my claim that I did get ministerial approval I worked through the dept at all times, I was well known for that modus operandi.” (Morning Ireland, 3rd item).

Tantalizingly, Hynes added;

“I would have related to the dept on the matter and as I mentioned in the article there was a Mr. Robert White present at some of the meetings and I was well aware the he was well connected to Fianna Fail and I believe connected to deputy Ahern.”

Who is this Mr. White and what was his function at the meetings?

The pity of Eoghan Harris

There was a time when Eoghan Harris was a brilliant, clear thinking, analytical journalist. He was also an impressive strategist as evidenced by the critical part he played in the election of Mary Robinson as the first woman president of Ireland in 1990.

Sadly, for reasons that genuinely puzzle me, he now exists in the same ‘Alice in Wonderland’ world populated by Bertie Ahern and all those who actually believe that he’s an honest politician.

Interviewed on RTEs News at One (2nd item) Harris blasted all and sundry for their part in an evil conspiracy to bring down the greatest Taoiseach in Irish history. Here’s a flavour of his rant.

The evil leader of this conspiracy is the Irish Daily Mail, not just because it’s an organ of the media but its British – attacking a great Irish leader. Morning Ireland, the Irish Independent and the Irish Times are all co-conspirators.

The Mahon Tribunal is deliberately trying to do down this great Irish patriot and is populated by greedy lawyers led by a tax avoiding judge. The whole surreal operation should have been shut down years ago.

The attack on our glorious leader is akin to the McCarthy era in America, the Stalinist era in Russia, led by a lying British based newspaper with a very bad track record in relation to the fascist appeasement before the war. (Feck, where did that come from?)

This campaign is tainting Irish politics, Irish politics is being corrupted by this endless diet of sensation hunting (No, really, he said that).

Cowardly Fianna Fail politicians should take courage and defend the great leader by absolutely refusing to talk to the media. All political parties should now stand up to this sick journalism.

Phew! What passion, what loyalty – what a pity?

Mafia country

Padraic O’Connor, the former director of NCB has stated that he is not and never was a friend of Bertie Ahern’s. In spite of this Ahern is adamant that they were very good friends. In effect, Ahern is calling O’Connor a liar. It’s as if O’Connor said that black is black and Ahern retorted, no; black is white.

This kind of fantasy world speak is common throughout all of Ahern’s evidence to the Tribunal. Only a fool would believe he is telling the truth and only someone from Mars would be in any doubt as to what really happened.

So why is he still the Prime Minister, why isn’t he being questioned by the police, why is it that, as sure as black is black, Ahern will never be brought to account for any of his actions?

Less than a week ago it emerged that the UK Labour Party had received large donations from a businessman using middlemen to pass on the money.

The next day there was a resignation. Three days later an opposition politician asked the police to investigate the matter. To my knowledge this has never happened in Ireland despite years of rampant political and business corruption.

Four days later the UK Electoral Commission also asked the police to investigate. The Irish equivalent, The Standards in Public Office Commission is debarred by law from initiating an investigation until it first receives a formal complaint.

This commission is a joke. The law debarring the commission from acting seems to have had only one function – to assist and protect the corrupt.

The reason Ahern will not be brought to account is because Ireland is a corrupt state. There is no authority in Ireland with the power, will or courage to bring rogue politicians or corrupt businessmen to justice.

This is why corrupt politicians like Haughey and Burke can successfully live out careers of rampant corruption doing untold damage to Ireland and its people.

It’s the reason politicians like Lorcan Allen can go on RTE and arrogantly admit that he doesn’t bother with obeying the law.

He knows with absolute certainty that nobody, no authority in the land can touch him. Allen is merely doing what any ruthless and unprincipled politician will do when he knows that the country he operates in is a corrupt entity. He allows his greed and arrogance full rein despite the massive damage done to society by his actions.

Jim Flavin of DCC possesses the same arrogant confidence that is common to those who know they are untouchable.

Found guilty (2nd item) of insider trading by the highest court in the land, a crime that sees long jail sentences in real democracies, Flavin knows he has nothing to worry about, he knows that there is no authority in the land that will take any serious action against him, he knows that the pathetic attempts by the ODCE to make him accountable are just that – pathetic.

Financial institutions and in particular the banks have robbed millions from consumers over the years. Not a single bank official has ever been questioned by the police. The banks too are supremely confident that they operate in a country where the system is specifically geared to protect their criminal behaviour.

The so called Irish Financial Regulator is a joke, it monotonously issues just one piece of advice to consumers –shop around. You want advice on buying a car, a house, a condom, a politician, the regulator has the answer – shop around.

In the meantime it enthusiastically enforces a secrecy law that forbids any consumer from knowing which financial institution is engaged in criminal activity and which, if any, is honest.

Nobody has even hinted that Ahern should resign or be fired for his behaviour. The only discussion that comes near to any possible consequences is that he might have damaged his chances of landing a job in Europe or that the controversy might damage his legacy – that’s it.

A Prime Minister who, when he was Minister for Finance, accepted very large amounts of cash from ‘friends and businessmen’ who insults the intelligence of all thinking Irish citizens with his ‘Alice in Wonderland’ explanations is not expected to resign, not expected to be accountable, not even expected to come up with a decent lie.

Let’s be absolutely clear about the situation. Ireland is not a normal country, it is not like any other Western democracy. It is a country run more along the lines of a mafia operation than a modern democratic state. It is a country where the powerful can do as they wish without the slightest fear that they will face justice.

David Cameron, leader of the UK Conservative Party speaking about the ongoing scandal said;

“There is a time in the life of every government when it slips over from complacency into arrogance, and from arrogance into even indifference for the law”.

To paraphrase him, I would say: There is a time in the life of many states when they slip over from the democratic process and become a country that operates principally for the benefit of the rich and powerful.

The corrupt Haughey began that process in the 1980s and his faithful and admiring protégé Bertie Ahern, has been successfully following his masters low standards ever since.

Copy to:

Fianna Fail
Standards in Public Office Commission
ODCE
Financial Regulator
Revenue
ISE
Dept. of Finance