Category: Fianna Fail

The late Brian Lenihan Snr. was, by all accounts, a very intelligent man. Unfortunately, by allowing himself to be used as a public stooge by Fianna Fail he was better known, at best, as a loveable clown.

On every occasion when the indefensible needed to be defended, Brian was wheeled out to tell everybody that there was “no problem’.

It seems now that Brian’s son, Conor Lenihan is happy to maintain this legacy. On last Sunday’s Marian Finucane show (43rd min.) Conor defended the on-going emasculation of the Freedom of Information Act by claiming that the new restrictions would save taxpayers’ money.

Using this logic, Conor would, presumably, be in favour of disbanding the Gardai, thus saving the taxpayer millions.

Seems it’s a case of – like father, like son.

“We simply have too much power. We Republicans have abused that power badly over the past several years,”

This was the response of Arizona Republican, Jeff Flake, in response to the Abramoff scandal in the US.

Even in our wildest dreams, could we ever imagine such straight talk from an Irish, especially a Fianna Fail, politician?

To cheer everybody up on these dark cold January days I will begin the year with a joke.

John O’Donoghue, FF Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism has claimed that

‘Ireland would be a “banana republic’ if Sinn Fa©in was in Government because it still retains a private army.’

This is funny for a number of reasons. Firstly, everybody in Ireland and the international community knows and accepts that the IRA has actually decommissioned their weapons. It’s hilarious that a minister in the Irish Government is apparently completely unaware of this historic development.

Our esteemed leader Bertie Ahern should really bring his minister up to date on the matter. This is how Bertie reacted to the standing down of the IRA.

‘The ‘standing down’ of IRA units and its decommissioning of all weapons had given Sinn Fa©in the status of a legitimate democratic and constitutional party.”

So the Taoiseach thinks that Sinn Fein is a legitimate democratic party and one of his ministers thinks that the party maintains a private army that could overthrow the State.

Secondly, the Minister seems to be under the impression that Ireland is not already a banana republic.

Billions wasted every year through the incompetence and corruption of public and civil servants with no one held accountable.

Financial institutions that regularly rob hundreds of millions from their customers and the State but have never been investigated by the police principally because the same State provides them with “protection’.

The most corrupt politician in Irish history, Charlie Haughey, never brought to justice and allowed to live in luxurious retirement with the full support and fawning praise of Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.

A health and education system that would embarrass even the most backward third world country.

A Parliament that is deservedly treated as a joke by Irish citizens and even by some politicians as evinced recently by Ivor Callely when he chose to make his case on national radio rather than explain himself in Dail Eireann.

A Minister for Justice, with the full backing of fellow politicians, who sees nothing wrong in secretly providing confidential police files to a favoured journalist in order to promote a political agenda

And the Minister is worried that Sinn Fein might damage the State??