Category: Government

Ireland: A land of political plunder

A recent letter in the Irish Independent.

We must remember as well, that no formal banking inquiry has been undertaken, to let us know what actually really happened on that fateful night in September 2008.

This must not be swept under the carpet. We must demand an immediate independent inquiry.

I could not agree more with Brendan O’Connor when he states how historians would look back on this era, and say “how did people allow that to happen?”.

As Frederic Bastiat once said:

“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorises it and a moral code that glorifies it.”

This is just what we have allowed to happen.

Olivia Hazell,

Co Kildare

Catholic Church and burning bodies

Letter in today’s Irish Times.

Sir,

Almost 20 years ago, the bodies of 22 women were exhumed from private land.

The identity of these women is still not known and no attempt has been made by the State or by the religious institution who interred these women, stripping them not only of their names but of their identity and of their existence, to find out who they were.

On the discovery of the 22 bodies on the grounds of High Park convent in Drumcondra, home to the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge, the Irish State responded in a way which epitomises the utter disregard they had and have for women.

The Department of Environment issued a licence allowing the nuns to have the remains of the additional 22 women removed to Glasnevin for cremation, no investigation, no questions, no vigil, nothing.

Mary Raftery wrote about this travesty of justice, this unspeakable crime against women by both church and State almost 10 years ago.

It is indicative of the apathy of the Irish people and state that 10 years since Mary Raftery wrote this article, exposing the criminal nature of State-church collusion, we are still waiting for an apology for the enslavement and brutal treatment of Irish women.

It is not up to Enda Kenny alone to apologise but to us, as a nation, to show true remorse and come together to recognise and remember these forgotten women.

Yours, etc,

Medb McKevitt
Dublin

I strongly disagree with the letter writer’s opinion that the people of Ireland are in any way responsible for the horrors perpetrated by the Catholic Church in collusion with the State.

It must have been extremely difficult, and impossible in most cases, for an individual or even a group of individuals to challenge an evil, Nazi type organisation like the Catholic Church that ruthlessly exploited the absolute power bestowed upon it by a corrupt political system.

Response to Fingleton documentary

Letter in today’s Irish Times.

Sir,

Which Irish bank collapsed the most spectacularly relative to the size of its assets? Irish Nationwide.

Who said that the building society’s lending practices in the old Fingleton regime were “shoddy” and “well below standard“? Gerry McGinn former CEO of Irish Nationwide (Business, April 23rd, 2010).

Commenting on this, who said, “It seems extraordinary that none of this seems to have been reported by the auditors.” Labour Finance spokesperson at the time, Joan Burton.

Who were auditors to Irish Nationwide in the 10 years up to its collapse? KPMG.

Who has just been appointed as liquidator to IBRC? KPMG.

Who made this decision? Faceless pensionable mandarins in the Department of Finance.

Will we as a nation ever learn? No.

Joe Hackett
Dublin

Fingleton: The most important question was not asked

The RTE documentary on Michael Fingleton should not have been about Fingleton. Nor should it have been about what was, effectively, his private bank, Irish Nationwide.

It should have been about those responsible for permitting ruthless and greedy individuals like Fingleton to do pretty much as they pleased.

It should have been about the abject failure of the Central Bank and the now defunct Ifrsa to rein in this rogue banker.

Fingleton was just a greedy banker. He was good at manipulating people and the political/business environment in which he operated.

In that respect he was no different from all the other greedy bankers who were allowed to suck the lifeblood out of the country for generations to come.

Instead of broadcasting sensationalised documentaries that seem to be designed solely to trigger the anger of viewers the media should be ruthlessly focusing on those responsible for creating an environment where people like Fingleton can thrive.

That secretive, sleazy financial environment was created and is still strongly maintained by our corrupt political system.

So-called regulatory authorities like the Central Bank do not act independently of the political system.

There may be no direct instructions (although I suspect that there are) from politicians to regulators but over many decades a culture has evolved whereby regulators ‘know’ what is expected of them.

This is not just my opinion. The actions and non actions of regulators over many decades points clearly to a policy of looking the other way when it comes to white collar crime.

In Ireland it is not a case of soft-touch regulation, it is a case of no regulation whatsoever.

Here’s one of the very few references to the Regulator from the documentary.

So here we are nine years before Irish Nationwide goes bust, the Regulator has a report highlighting deficiences in its systems and practices and at the same time the Society is plunging headlong into ever larger developer deals, growing at a worrying pace.

This was just a building society but it wasn’t stopped.

So Irish Nationwide was going rotten, the Regulator knew it was going rotten. The failure to act ultimately cost Irish citizens €5.4 billion.

Why was it allowed to happen?

This is the question every journalist and media outlet in the country should be relentlessly demanding an answer to from those in power.

An irresponsible Central Bank still favouring the rich and powerful

Michael Fingleton’s lavish expenses and his refusal to return a €1 million bonus is the thing that will anger taxpayers the most according to an Irish Independent report today.

Regrettably, this is probably true.

Regrettably because the full force of public anger should focus on the betrayal by the so-called regulatory authority responsible for reigning in low-life individuals like Fingleton – The Central Bank.

In 2000 the Central Banks own consultants highlighted the lack of controls within Irish Nationwide when lending money.

Similar concerns were raised five years later in 2005 but no action was taken.

The figures are nothing short of incredible. Irish Nationwide advanced loans totalling €17 billion between 2003 and 2007.

Remember, this institution wasn’t even a bank, it was a bog standard building society.

Even with the very minimum of deliberation and paperwork, (which, apparently was the case) Fingleton must have been working 24/7 to deal with the sheer volume of cash flowing out of ‘his’ bank.

All this was done under the totally irresponsible eye of our facilitating Central Bank.

Next to our corrupt political system the Central Bank and other so-called regulatory agencies are principally responsible for the economic disaster visited upon the people of Ireland.

The Central Bank has a long and disgraceful history when it comes to protecting the interests of Ireland and its people.

Practically all decisions and actions/inactions by the Central Bank and other so-called regulatory agencies over the past several decades have benefitted rich and powerful interests while inflicting untold suffering on Irish citizens.

And in case there’s anybody out there labouring under the illusion that this particular leopard has changed its spots – it has not.

There is an ever-increasing body of evidence which suggests that the Central Bank is still operating under the same culture of favouring the rich at the expense of Ireland and its citizens.

Copy to:
Central Bank

The deal: Political victory but nothing much will change

Whatever the benefits, if any, of the deal reached with the EU on the promissory notes it cannot be denied that the event was a major political victory for the Government.

But, that aside, the deal will make no difference whatsoever to the hardships imposed and to be imposed on the people of Ireland.

Government politicians are congratulating themselves by saying the deal will result in softer budgets – it will not.

The deal will be irrelevant to those with €20 left in their pocket at the end of the month when state authorities coming banging on their doors demanding €98 instead of €100 in taxes and charges.

As the household tax, water charges and the next budget approach the politicians will revert to their old tune – austerity is the only game in town. Pay up and keep your mouths shut.

The following is an interesting exchange between Pat Kenny and Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

Kenny: Why did the ECB change its mind about the whole principle of this that was described by people in Frankfurt as ‘barely legal’.

Noonan: The legal people would say that the existing promissory notes arrangement was totally contrary to…

Kenny: Illegal?

Noonan: Totally.

Kenny: So it’s an improvement in its legality.

Noonan: Yes. Some bank people were saying to me, what you’re saying is illegal. I said to them: It’s an awful lot more legal than what you agreed three years ago.

Pat Kenny: Horsemeat? Ah sure eat away, it'll do you no harm

Catherine Brown, the Food Standards Agency in the UK, said that it was highly likely that criminal activity was to blame for horsemeat being found in some meals.

But Pat Kenny is not worried about the latest revelation that some beef lasagne is actually 100% horsemeat.

There’s nothing unsafe about it, says Pat.

If you fancy having a go of it, off you go. It’s not going to kill you.

As I wrote the other day, this is to make the dangerous assumption that criminals are operating to the same high standards as that of legitimate meat processors.

Pat withdrew his advice after a caller reminded him that the horses used could have been laced with dangerous drugs.

Diplomatic passports: For a special 'class' of person?

I contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding the issuing of diplomatic passports.

I requested the name, position and passport date of issue for all current holders of such passports.

This request was refused on the grounds that the information was too voluminous. I was, however, advised that I could submit a Freedom of Information request on the matter.

I also requested the official definition of a diplomatic and an official passport.

In response I was provided with this link which outlines conditions for the issue of such passports which is, effectively:

For the purpose of travelling abroad in connection with official duties on behalf of the State.

Or, the minister may grant a diplomatic passport to:

A person, or one of a class of persons, to whom the Minister considers it appropriate to issue such a passport.

The key words in this last condition are, of course:

One of a class of persons.

This would probably explain why the likes of Mrs. Haughey, wife of the criminal politician, was granted the privilege.

Lazy journalism and the horsemeat scandal

According to Irish Independent journalist Ailish O’Hora the horsemeat drama is symptomatic of how we lost the run ourselves during the tiger years.

This is pure lazy journalism.

If Ms. O’Hora was a properly informed journalist she would be aware that the scandal has no connection whatsoever with the tiger years.

She would, for example, be aware that scandals and corruption in the meat industry go back decades before the tiger years.

She would also be aware that corruption between business and politics has been rampant since the establishment of the State in 1922.

She would be aware of the fact that Ireland is an intrinsically corrupt state where scandal and corruption form an integral and fully acceptable part of the governance of the state.

Yuk factor complacency

The so-called Yuk factor seems to be an accepted rationale in the ongoing horsemeat scandal.

The Yuk factor stems from the fact that horsemeat is not generally on the menu in Ireland and is therefore seen by most Irish consumers as a yuk food.

The general thrust of media coverage seems to be that while horsemeat may be a yuk food for the Irish it is perfectly safe and won’t damage their health.

This assumption only stands up if those (criminals?) who are illegally importing the horsemeat into Ireland have a world class processing plant where the highest EU standards in food production are strictly observed.

Somehow, I think this is unlikely.

It’s more likely that the horsemeat is sourced from anywhere they can get it for a knockdown price such as knacker’s yards or from farmers wanting to get rid of rotten carcasses.

And who’s to say it’s just horsemeat? It could quite easily be a mixture of roadkill and abattoir waste from a whole range of animals, wild and domesticated.

Mmmm… I think the yuk factor could be a lot more yuckier than people realise.